Blog about a Blog #2

I have chosen to comment on the article “Loss of Funds for National Parks” written by J.B Newhouse.  I’ll start of by saying I agree with the author’s argument of the government not doing enough to preserve our national parks. Our government must really start to take into consideration the state of health that some of national parks are in and they must act quickly.  As the author pointed out, what’s the point of the government spending a ton of money on getting people to live longer when they are just setting them up to live in a unhealthy environment due to lack of preservation by the United States government.  I like how the author points out that we spent 145,000,000 on a missile that we’ll only use once, it makes you really wonder about the decision making is being made in our government system.  Now I also do realize that national security is a focal point of most countries around the world but, a country still must be willing to take care of its national land in order to make their country a place where people feel safe, healthy, and want to spend the rest of their lives.  I like how the author is not afraid to speak his mind, and how he strongly defends his opinions by making very blunt statements.  I really liked reading this blog because I could really feel the author’s anger and frustration towards the government for the lack of funds that have been sent to national parks.

Privatize, To Big of A Risk?

Social security and the care for the elderly have been at the top of America’s issues for a extensive amount of time now and is still left in the waiting, because no one wants to make the big move and handle the big problems.

Then the idea of privatizing hit the table (Coming from the Republicans), this would allow retirees to be able to control and maintain their own funds in which they PIA’s (personal investment accounts). There are several reasons why people are supporting this bill but here are just a few of the top reasons. Person’s supporting the privatizing of social security feel that they would have the luxury of investing their own money as the saw fit. That being said, it would bring them higher investment returns rather having the government handle it and come back with lower returns. Followers also see how the existing program will require deep cuts in benefits and tax hikes in order to avoid the collapse of S.S. privatizing would be funded with an existing payroll tax which would avoid any of these substantial cuts.

             All in all I see how their intentions and ideas sound really good at first thought but protection is what retirees want and I don’t see how putting a good amount of people who don’t know anything about controlling stocks and doing to scream PROTECTION to any retiree.  Benefits is big part of what the social security system is about “taking care of our elderly and providing for the deprived” if this bill were to pass it reduce benefit levels by as much as 44% below the levels of 2005 over the next 5 decades. Now if its benefits that people are asking for then this plan would need to find way to substantially change a portion of the bill in order to fit the benefit needs that American retiree want. Social Security is a program that provides benefits through a single centralized process that is run by our U.S. government.  The privatization of individual retiree accounts would create a sort of decentralized system that will have to adhere to the many different and wide arrays of preferences and options not including the investor’s expectations.

       A question I have is how will they be able to help and protect the thousands of people who have no clue of what they’re doing in the market?  If you don’t have a clue as to how to find your way around the market then people become victims of deceitful stock brokers. Retirees looking at this proposal should ask themselves, is risky my money in today’s economy, something that I would be leaning towards?

Blog about a Blog

The blog that I chose to critique was Super Committee to Save the Day by Angel Sandoval. In reading the article I liked the amount of information and statistics that were put into her blog in order to really explain the significance of the entire situation. The editorial in itself is very much worth reading. Her explanation of the of the reduction plan, of the committee and, the importance that lies on twelve people’s shoulders can really help the average person who is not really involved in politics better understand the situation. She also was very clear on her doubts and opinions of the committee which was also backed up with very credible information.

I do very much agree with the thought of their name being very childish and I could have sworn they are trying to sort out trillions of dollars not fifty dollars from a lemonade stand. I also agree with her doubtfulness of the group and their ability to come agreements with one another considering the fact that six of them are democrats and the others are republicans. The fact that the two parties cant get past other differences, to get negotiations for the reduction plan on the right track is baffling to me. Aren’t these twelve party representative’s supposed to be the best at getting this plan where it needs to be in order to get through congress? And yet they’ve been stuck in a stand still worrying about who’s leaking what to the media and who to point the finger at if the job does not get done.  Agreeing with the author, plans optimistically form quickly or else congress will have no reduction plan to consider.

Veteran Affairs

"For their service and sacrifice, warm words of thanks from a grateful nation are more than warranted, but they aren't nearly enough. We also owe our veterans the care they were promised and the benefits that they have earned. We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America.”

Making life easier on U.S veterans’ one government‘s top priorities? For the way I would like to see it they are. Men and women of our country put their lives on the line for us, so why is it that some of these bills trying to be passed being held up? We should start to remember that all veterans put their at risk voluntarily every day.

President Barack Obama ensures US veterans who are returning home a smooth transition from active duty to civilian life. Men and women serving our country should have the privilege of returning home to a safe environment with the help of America being there for them. This is something that most families for former active military are worried about do to many cases of posttraumatic syndrome that affects many former military members when arriving home after extensive military combat.

An announcement from President Obama on August 5, 2011 stated that service members and veterans should leave the military prepared, trained, and educated for life after the military. With a plan set in motion service members and veterans will have a better chance at achieving employment through hiring tax credits and private sector commitments.

In an effort to help troops and their families, President Obama plans to raise military pay and continue to provide for child-care. In addition, career training for spouses and extended counseling and outreach programs to families that have suffered through the separation and stress of war.

 The Recovery Act provides the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans

The President announced the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Initiative. The idea will improve services and the help of treatment to transitioning veterans by speeding the rate of the transition of medical records and other files between the department of Veteran Affairs and defense.  Both departments consider the theory of the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Initiative, a key step toward enhancing the distribution of care to service members transitioning from military to noncombatant life.

VA Healthcare

With Secretary Shinseki, the President will make sure the VA provides veterans the best care possible. This means improved care for poly-trauma, vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, and women's health.

VA Services

We all share the shame of well over one hundred thousand veterans going homeless on any given night. This Administration will work on pilot programs with not-for-profit organizations to make sure that veterans at risk of losing their homes have a roof over their heads.

Finally, this Administration recognizes that our veterans deserve something more -- an equal chance to reach for the very dream they defend. This Administration is committed to providing the resources to effectively implement the Post-9/11 GI Bill – providing every returning service member with a real chance to afford a college education.

One-Sided Affair

In the article from the Washington Monthly it takes about how the president is discussing the American Jobs Act in order to create over two million more jobs for U.S citizens’.  The argument is whether or not the plan is really going to do what everyone says it is going to do and also in which plan do we entrust our nation’s economy with.  This caught my attention due to the fact that I know a lot of people who would love for an act like this to go through.  An act of this magnitude will give them a better opportunity for employment somewhere.

I believe his intended audience was to political reporters just due to the fact that he says himself that he hoped political reporters were paying attention.  Also I believe that it was towards the American public letting them know about the doubts that still surround many and some of the biggest issue that we have in the United States of America today.  The amount of precise information and real up to the date information really makes the author of this article highly credible.  His quotes from Obama’s speech and the percentages of how the voters support the particular bill really pull the whole blog together.  He seems to be making more of a statement rather than carrying on a opinion.  It was probably due to the fact that the situation is so one-sided that no argument could even be put up for the republicans, unless you were one.

            I agree with the author’s arguments. In most part because, of his politically correct and up to date information. It really opened my eyes on how the republicans are acting even during dire times.  I don’t see how republicans can even begin to think that there plan actually has a chance with our current economic position. The facts are the facts and I believe that the white house should push this bill very hard in order for it to pass and to keep the ideas of the republicans on the way side.  We need progress and success in order to build the confidence and security the United States of America once had.  

Taking Action or Sit Back

                The very interesting editorial in the NY Times that is discussing the certain situation that we find ourselves economically with China.  I like the author’s statements on how he believes that a reason why jobs are being lost is because the manufacturers in the United States cannot keep up with the cheaply priced Chinese goods.  His thoughts on how the Chinese government is manipulating their money is interesting to think about because of how good of a position the Chinese are sitting right compared to other countries.               

            I believe the authors editorial was primarily towards our politically educated and was trying to spark a discussion on how we can make a move by setting up a senate bill but, then take the chances suffer the consequences of making our economy worse and having the Chinese retaliate on our government. His credibility is in a good status because of the amount of information that is displayed in his editorial. His statements on how china could retaliate of the US making a move to end a speculation of China manipulating currency are very interesting to think about because of the multiple ways they can go about it. 

            I am though very skeptical about his statement on how toy and textile manufactures will decline tremendously because he has no argument to back up the reasons for such a thing to happen. I do agree with his idea on how Beijing will not change the government that has been the mainstay of their economy for the past two years.

            I believe the author felt that the U.S would be pushing to many buttons of the Chinese if the indeed decided to set-up a senate bill with strong support from bipartisan.  I do agree with the author in the way that I believe we might be crossing the line in a way but, I still believe that helping out our own country should come first to our government before anything.  If something of this magnitude needed to be done to help improve our economic decline it should be done because that is why we put people in those important seats in the white house because we entrust them to make the important decisions for us and if this move would benefit us then it should be done.

Complaints of Harrasment on Capitol Hill

As reported by Ed O'Keefe from the Washington Post in his recent article about the uprising in complaints that are dealing with harassment and behavioral issues.  He brings to mind the idea of there still being a great amount of bias between genders and race that still goes on in our nation today, even in the most educated of societies'.
        This article very interesting due to the fact that I was so surprised on how this problem since the beginning days of our nation and government still seem to be heavily unresolved and continue to create problems.
      It is very relevant to me in a way because I have experienced a second hand situation in where a co-worker in some ways seemed to be receiving types of harassment of gender and race from our boss.  This situation is not only uncomfortable for the worker but also for the co-workers so I can see why so many more complaints have arisen because more people are becoming knowledgeable of their rights.
          I wanted to blog about this article because it was a really big eye opener for myself and on how our society with this problem is still so far back from where we need to be.  I feel that this problem needs more attention from big companies and by that statement I mean educating their workers more about these problems.  I feel that our problem is the lack of education to the public about our different races and gender inequality in our nation. I feel we need to learn uniqueness and boundaries of these problems in order to really understand and grasp the concept of making the workplace more comfortable for workers.