From time to time I post guest blog entries from my readers. Martin Breen has been the most prolific but I am open to essays from others too. I don't need to agree with your view to post your essay.

Here is Martin's latest:

So if the rich and poor in California are in fact being financially supported by the Middle, shouldn't both groups treat me better and with a little more respect? Perhaps since the poor don't pay taxes and I completely carry their burden, they can send me a "thank you" post card twice a year like the kid my family supports in Africa. But we get no thank you; rather, we get demonized and attitude like how dare we even consider cutting back free housing, healthcare and school? It's time for the middle class to push back and demand some gratitude.

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Please leave a comment as feedback to let Martin know what you think.

My feedback:

Martin, stop focusing on faraway "elites" and tell us what you think of our local state legislators and the jobs they have been doing. Change begins at home.

From time to time I post guest blog entries from my readers. Martin Breen has been the most prolific but I am open to essays from others too. I don't need to agree with your view to post your essay.

Here is Martin's latest:

Paradise Lost

By Martin Breen

Like many of you, I came to California from another place. In fact, one out of four Californians were born in another State. One more out of the four was born in another country. As such, nearly half of us have settled here by choice or in many cases as fulfillment of a dream. In a sense Californians mirror America's immigrant population as we emigrated to the Golden State for a greater opportunity or as the Mamas and Papas put it by "Californian Dreaming." I came for the weather and stayed for the love of a place where you could ski and surf on the same day. To me, there's no place like it on earth and this little slice of paradise has been my home for the last 35 years.

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Please leave a comment as feedback to let Martin know what you think.

Guest blogger Martin Breen is back with another attack on Wall Street. I am open to posting guest blog entries from a variety of views. Just because I post it doesn't mean I agree with their views. In this latest entry Martin Breen has upped his anger at Wall Street.

Are you Now, or Have You Ever Been a Wall Street Banker? By Martin Breen

If you watch CNBC or read the Wall Street Journal, you would think that criticizing the financial industry or wanting an investigation into potential crimes committed by those involved in the 2008 Financial Crisis is a witch-hunt on par with the 1950's McCarthy Hearings on Communism. Channeling my inner Richie Cunningham (yes, that is a "Happy Days" reference), "that's just cow dung, Fonzie." There's nothing anti-business about expecting the laws of our nation to be equally applied and enforced. Indeed, this is the very political ideology that led to our founding and separation from England.

Click on continue reading for the rest of the entry.

Frequent guest blogger Martin Breen is back with another entry. Martin, by now I know what you are against, but I don't know what you support. Are there any financial regulations pending in congress that you support? Do you like Arianna Huffington's push to move money to local banks? Are you against the tax on some banks that administration has supported?

I am also what local candidates you support.

Here is his latest entry:

The Adventures of Fedman and the Temple of Doom Otherwise Known as AIG By Martin Breen

If you hear our Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, tell it, he and his banker friends saved the world on a blustery fall day in September 2008 when they bailed out AIG and saved us from certain doom. Good old Timmy recently told this tale to one of the Congressional Oversight Committees, namely that he needed to bailout AIG as its bankruptcy would have caused the collapse of the financial markets. Talk about grandiose. There's nothing more surreal than watching this Spock wannabe puff out his chest and suggest how he saved the world. Never mind the fact that he and the bankers caused the crisis. Indeed, if Superman caused most the problems that he was trying to fix, then I don't think anyone would think he was very "super." Someone needs to give Timmy a reality check - you're not a superhero, you're the villain.

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Follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/dennert .

My frequent guest blogger Martin Breen is back with another of his articles. Please leave him feedback including questions. Martin, here's my first question:

Do you support the President's views on healthcare insurance reform?

Spy vs. Spy By Martin Breen

It has been years since I read MAD Magazine. For my generation, it was a weekly right of the prepubescent, my first taste of unfiltered comedy, and dare I say, anti-establishment tendencies. Contained within MAD's colorful pages was the serial cartoon, Spy vs. Spy. For those too young to remember, the Black Spy and White Spy were mortal enemies locked in a vicious eternal struggle to destroy the other. In one episode, the Black Spy would attempt to blow up the White Spy in this elaborate scenario involving fake quick sand and a phony "Top Secret" briefcase and in the next, the White Spy would use a giant sling shot to shoot himself over the napping Black Spy in order to drop a stick of dynamite down an exposed chimney.

Click on continue reading for the rest of the essay.

( What's your favorite line from the Slap Chop video?)

My most prolific guest blogger is back with another entry. Send me an email if you want to post a guest blog entry. Posting an entry doesn't mean I agree or disagree with the content.

Here is the entry from Martin Breen:

The E Ticket

Walt Disney was often fond of saying that imagination is the key to all success. For those that remember, the "E ticket" was Disney's coupon that got you on the best rides at Disneyland in the 70's and 80's (my favorite was the monorail). In fact, the term "E Ticket" became synonymous for an unusual and thrilling ride or spectacle. An E Ticket meant excitement and transformation, like stepping into a clean, silent monorail when your parent's car still choked like a Model T. And, today, I think the E Ticket represents the notion that imagination will lead America to its next great revival.

Those that have written us off and say that we are a country on the decline, fail to understand the fundamental character and reason why America has been the greatest and most prosperous nation in the history of the world. In one word: Imagination. Indeed, I think because we are a nation of immigrants, those that risked life and limb to get here were attracted by the unifying force of possibility, that is, imagination. Come on folks, if you're here, you have already dreamed big or you're a descendant of someone who did.

Don't you see how it has always been "possibility" that has propelled our nation forward? The possibility of forming our own government, not ruled by Monarchy. The possibility that you can be born into poverty and rise to great station in life -- equal to any Dickens story. The possibility that all men really are created equal. The possibility that when the world is challenged by fascism one nation rises up to save it. The possibility that a President will claim that we will be the first to land a man on the moon even though we didn't even have the proper rocket yet, and we do.

America has always been the technological and economic world leader through imagination and invention. Indeed, in 1790, President Washington signed a bill establishing the modern patent and trademark system. Since, nearly 8 million patents have been granted. Here are but a few: Eli Whitney's cotton gin; Robert Fulton's steamboat; Charles Goodyear's rubber; Samuel Morse's telegraph; Sam Colt's revolving firearm; Elisha Otis' elevator; Alexander Graham Bell's telephone; Thomas Edison's phonograph and incandescent light bulb; Nikola Tesla's transmission of radio; Ransom Olds' assembly line; Willis Carrier's air conditioning; the Wright Brothers' airplane; George Eastman's photographic film; William Shockley's transistor; John Blankenbaker's personal computer; Cerf & Kahn's internet protocol/TCP; and Martin Cooper's mobile phone. In fact, there are some many prolific American inventions that have transformed our economy (and the world) that I could literally go on all day.

But something happened in the 1960's and America started to forget how to make stuff up. Maybe it was the drugs - maybe it was the sexual revolution or television but something happened and the world-changing American inventions began to dry up. Yes, the personal computer and the laser printer were invented since the 60's, but so were inline skates; fleece; paintball; TiVo; and the robotic vacuum. These are hardly on the same transformative scale as the light bulb and the steam engine. In fact, these are downright trivial. And the silliness just continues today: the Sham Wow and Snuggie - a blanket with sleeves, really? This is what America's imagination has come to?

Unfortunately, the place we find ourselves today has been the direct result of a failure of imagination. A failure to imagine and think big enough and know that we can do better. A failure to imagine that the next Einstein or Edison is already among us, and, maybe with a little guidance, he or she will literally save the world. But it's also a failure to imagine that things can go badly. A failure to understand that good times do not last forever. A failure to understand that borrowing our way out of trouble will just delay things, not fix them.

I may strike a nerve here but I think America has become too sports oriented. I know your kid has a killer arm and he can throw a football 60 yards on his knees but the world needs another strong-armed quarterback like a hole in the head (or in ozone, if you like). How about instead of having your kid train 4 hours a day with a professional trainer and eating protein shakes mixed by hand, you get your kid to read a book or learn the periodic table of the elements? Maybe actually put school first instead or pretending to do so? I mean kids today know Kobe Bryant's scoring average by heart but cannot tell you the periodic symbol for mercury (it's Hg). And, don't get me wrong, as a former soccer player, I love sports, indeed, I played in college through a scholarship, but sports were a means to an end. That end was to learn teamwork and discipline so that I could attain my college diploma - not become a professional athlete.

And, I say this because I know that next great transformative invention is out there and hopefully in the mind of an American teenager or child. Maybe they're in your high school or middle school, staying in on most Friday nights, googling scientific discovery for fun. As a nation, we just need to value academic achievement as much (or more) as we do athletic success. I mean how many times have you seen front page news stories on teenaged basketball guards or baseball pitchers, yet teenage geniuses live in virtual obscurity, or worse, in fear that their brilliance will keep them socially isolated or mocked.

Well America, we certainly have a lot in front of us: Two wars, global climate change and the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. America has become "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." It's enough to make you want to throw in the towel and curl up on the sofa watching reruns for eternity. But there's another way to look at it: America has become an E Ticket. At a minimum, we are in for one thrilling ride. While we don't know how it will end, we know we will decide how it ends. In the words of President Kennedy in his 1961 "Space" speech, for which I wholly endorse: "I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary." We just need to leverage and value those resources and talents. And, throwing a split seam fastball well, in the big picture, is just . . . well. . , unimportant.

This may seem crazy but good imagination usually does: Water will one day soon provide the entire world's energy. Algae will feed the planet and taste good. Southwest Airlines will be rocketing to the moon from six convenient Los Angeles locations. OPEC will just be some tourist trap museum in Saudi Arabia as Americans will teleport themselves to places far and near. Dolphins will teach us a new language that will one day allow us to communicate with another solar system.

Imagination has always been, and will always be, America's E Ticket.

This is the latest guest blog entry from Simi Valley citizen Martin Breen. In this latest installment he starts to bring his attention closer to local politicians. Read his thoughts and then leave him some feedback. Just because I post his entries it doesn't mean I agree, nor does it mean I disagree. I enjoy reading thoughts from a variety of views. If you want to write a guest blog entry that will be read by many local activists, staff members of elected officials, and office holders send me an email.

Martin, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. In your next entry consider bringing up the board of supervisors or the city council. Keep it up!

Here is his guest blog entry:

On that December day that the Department of Justice announced its impending indictment on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, he stood in his relaxed warm-up suit incredulous that he had been accused of any crime. Questioned over what he meant when his taped recorded conversations revealed comments such as "what's in it for me" and "a Senate seat is a [redacted] valuable thing, you just don't give away for nothing," he answered "it's just politics." While most Americans were shocked or cringed that any politician would attempt to sell President Obama's former Senate seat, I couldn't believe that any politician could be so honest.

Indeed, this may have been the first (and last) honest thing that Blagojevich has said in his many tough and tumble years in politics. Maybe you didn't hear it? He said it was just politics. And, I for one believe him. That's why I think that Rod Blagojevich is an American hero. Of course, not in the same sense, that a firefighter is when he or she rushes into a burning building. But nevertheless, a genuine hero for giving us a rare look down the rabbit hole and for saying out loud that everyday politics is not about serving the public or working to make America better. Let's face reality here; career politicians can longer be trusted.

I am not suggesting that every politician is a blatant crook like Rod Blagojevich or Ted Stevens (sorry, prosecutor misconduct doesn't mean he didn't do it - he did). Rather, some are better than others at hiding their deceptions. But make no mistake about it -- it's there just below the surface -- just lift the rug a little and you will see the filth underneath.

Everything is either sold or traded in politics. You know that life-time tenured District Court Judgeship? Yep, bought and paid for by some political heavy weight or his or her friends. Sorry, merit and hard work had nothing to do with it. You know that Appointee for Special Committee for School Betterment? Yep, it just so happens, it's the Board Chairman's largest contributor.

What did Blagojevich's indictment also reveal? That politicians are obsessed with raising money for their own reelection. Indeed, it is clear that being reelected is their most important concern. Each and every single issue or problem that comes to their attention is seen through this distorted prism. A constituent has a family immigration problem: How much money can you raise for me or my political friends? A company has serious tax issues: How many votes can you get me?

I would argue that Congress' systematic corruption [insert California or your State Legislature here] is so pervasive that the entire system needs to be rebooted. In fact, the political arena is this netherworld of smarmy characters that suck the lifeblood out of America. Remember, Lord Acton's oft quoted line that "power corrupts." Well, most people get this quote wrong; the real quote is "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In the other words, the real meaning of the quote is that power causes corruption in all cases - on a sliding scale. Some politicians steal, others lie, yet others put their own self-interest above the people they work for, but in the end - power corrupts them all. And, this is exactly what has happened in America. Indeed, our Constitution is designed for this inevitability.

A recent example of a career politician's descent into self-indulgence is Congresswoman, Jane Harman. According to reports of FBI wiretaps, Harman offered to intervene in a criminal case in return for support of her effort to be named head of the intelligence panel. At best, Harman's actions demonstrate that politics-as-usual has nothing to do with you or me. At worst, she is part of the backroom "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" club that has bogged this Country down to the point where we ripping apart at the seams. If her self-serving demand to be head of the intelligence panel wasn't enough, entertainment mogul Haim Saban (remember that Power Ranger phenomenon - you can thank Haim) was purported to threaten to withhold campaign donations to Nancy Pelosi if Harman wasn't named to the head of the intelligence panel. Unfortunately for us, this is the kind of stuff career politicians do everyday behind the scenes - they're usually just not taping it.

And, let's be clear. I am not saying that Jane Harman committed a crime. Because as the law is currently written, she did not. But don't you see how it is crime that this sort of conduct is not a crime? Listen up Jane, I want you working each and every tax dollar-funded second for my interests and my kids' interests, not for the Haim Saban's of the world and certainly not so you can be made head of the intelligence panel. Maybe if you (and your 434 colleagues) didn't spend every waking second helping yourself get ahead we might not be in this mess. Can you imagine if politicians put all their energy and resources into running this country instead of running for office?

And, of course, on our sliding scale, Republicans are not any better. Elton Gallegly, by all appearances, seems to be a very unremarkable Congressman. But these days, being a "do-nothing" politician is sort of like being a decent shipman on the Titanic - you're still going down with the ship. Yes, Elton, you have a 98% voting attendance record but the kid in class who shows up every day and gets the blue attendance award is not necessarily the best student in class - often, he's the one that just doesn't have anything else to offer. Did you ever hear of quality over quantity? And, by the way, your voting record of supporting everything George Bush wanted was not what the 24th District wanted. Especially, if you call yourself a fiscal conservative but then you vote for a costly war and Medicare changes that increase our national debt.

Another thing you so-called career liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans don't get is that you cannot argue adherence to the Constitution only when it supports your agenda. That's the thing about the Constitution; sometimes its words are in your favor. Some times its words are against you. Regardless, it's the law and you swore an oath to uphold it. So uphold it, even if it means you might not get to bailout AIG or read the emails of American citizens.

So here's my solution: if you're tired of the current system, vote all career politicians out and put someone in who does not care about their own reelection or finding ways to stay in some government office or another. It's time to move America back to its origins when part-time politicians ran our government. In fact, if you recall they had to beg George Washington to accept the presidency - he didn't want it - We need more reluctant politicians. Just like jury duty, ordinary Americans would fulfill their patriotic duties by serving in government. Incidentally, I heard that the pay and benefits is not so bad either.

There are 435 House of Representative jobs and 100 Senate jobs that can be filled by regular, everyday Americans. Indeed, wouldn't it be great if instead of one Republican and one Democrat (and that crazy pot smoking Libertarian) running for Congress, it was one thousand concerned Americans running for each and every Congressional seat. Talk about sending a message. Your numbers alone would probably overwhelm the system. Because sometimes when things don't work -- the quickest way to fix them -- is to take the plug out of the wall and start all over again.

Posting guest blog entries doesn't mean I necessarily agree with them. To write a guest blog entry send me an email. I challenged Martin Breen to mix in his thoughts on local politicians for his next entry. What local politicians would you have included in this article?

It's a Wonderful Lie by Martin Breen

Do you remember that scene in everybody's favorite holiday movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," where the town has heard that George Bailey's (Jimmy Stewart) Building and Loan has no cash and the town folks make a run on it? You remember the scene where the evil banker, Mr. Potter, is trying to buy up all the Bedford financial institutions by calling in the B & L's loan and is paying pennies on the dollar. Since the Regulators just happen to be at the B & L conducting an audit, if George runs out of money by the end of the day, the B & L will probably be closed for good. So George uses his honeymoon money and asks his neighbors and friends, "how much do you really need?" praying that he will have enough cash to finish the day. Nearly everyone in town takes just what they need to make it through the week, except that one guy, Tom. Tom wants all of his $242 and he doesn't care if his money was loaned to build his neighbor's house or a hardware store, he wants it anyway.

When I was nine years old watching that movie for the first time, I hated Tom. Of course, the lie that we tell ourselves is that we are George Bailey and that we hate Mr. Potter. In the real world, we're either closer to Mr. Potter or Tom then we are to George Bailey. Indeed, as far as I can see, I do not think there are many George Bailey's left -- those that use their own money to help others and sacrifice their own desires for a better community. And, this is why shared sacrifice will not work in America because the Potter's of the world will never participate if they cannot control their own wealth. On the opposite side of the ledger, those that perpetually live off the entitlements funded by our tax dollars, the takers of the world, will never stop taking and they will take more and more than they actually need which will ultimately doom us all. Don't you see how these two extremes are closer to each other than to us, as both do not contribute to the maintenance of society? For Potter, we are to be used as a means to generate more money for himself and the takers do the same by asking for handouts based upon their own self-interest without regard to actual need. Ask yourself if the Octmom will contribute to society or take from it?

That's how free-market capitalism works, it recognizes that human nature is such that people act in self-interest and it attempts to allocate common human interests so that it produces maximum efficiency and wealth. It is similar to our legal system that uses an adversarial system to produce the truth. Of course, in this process, often lies are told and they must be scrutinized. This is the same with capitalism, where excess and greed must be scrutinized in order to discover its truth: self-interest can help everyone. No one is better at knowing what is best for you, then you.

This is where the fiction of "shared sacrifice" comes into play. I would suggest to you that there is no such thing as "shared sacrifice." Indeed, the definition of sacrifice is based upon "forfeiture." Forfeiture is a concept of property ownership. So by definition we cannot all give up something we don't own. If we were being intellectually honest we would admit that there's really only "self-sacrifice." In other words, stop asking others to give up what's not yours and focus on yourself and what you're willing to give up. In this way, we may be able to change the conversation and turn America around. Yes, I am willing to offer a helping hand to assist those down on their luck but I am not willing to assist those that never try to help themselves up. At a certain point, if my offer of assistance gets abused, it should be revoked. But the government never revokes anything, it just grows and grows and spends much of its time and resources on perpetuating itself. Indeed, in this way it ceases serving me, or even the less-fortunate, but rather it only serves itself.

Another fiction is that Congress is on your side. It's not. It sold out to Potter a long time ago. The fiction that Democratic bankers are better than Republican bankers would be laughable, if it wasn't so tragic. Congress pretends to care so it can be reelected and keep its gravy train going. To me, Pelosi and Bush are cut from the same cloth as both represent the worst America has to offer. Don't be fooled into thinking that the Democrats care more about every day Americans because if they did they wouldn't be taking your money and giving it to Tim Geithner's college classmates.

America, the lies we tell ourselves just to get us through the day. Here, are but a few of them: (1) Social Security is part of the social contract and will protect all those that enter retirement from poverty. I wish. Social Security is another ponzi scheme where current contributors pay off current recipients - very soon, current contributors will be unable to fund current recipients and the whole thing will collapse. But we keep lying to ourselves that nothing needs to be done and it will be there for us when we need it. Sorry, it won't, plan accordingly; (2) Funding for Medicare and Medicaid does not affect our ability to fund infrastructure and education. Again, sorry, but every funding decision means that some other program will go unfunded. Put simply, American tax dollars spent on Medicare and Medicaid will mean fewer dollars for roads and a quality education. But let's stop lying to ourselves and telling ourselves that the kids will just do fine. They won't because they're already far behind.

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that President Obama has to use our money (and future generations) to save the banks so he can free up credit and fix the economy. Stop and think for a moment. They're taking our money and giving it to the banks so they can loan it back to us. That's totally asinine. How about I just keep my money and maybe I won't need a loan? I have even heard some folks from the Left express this same sentiment but with a twist, they say why doesn't the government cut out the banks and just loan us the money directly. Or the government could just let me keep my money and then (again) maybe I won't need a loan? Or is the real reason they need to save the banks is because "credit" has become another entitlement program, especially when it doesn't have to be paid back?

Click here for past guest blog entries from Martin Breen.

Here is another guest blog entry from reader Martin Breen. To write a guest blog entry yourself send me an email. I don't necessarily agree with the guest blog entries I post.

Click here for past guest blog entries.

How the Nerf Ball Ruined America
by Martin Breen

Do you remember a time when footballs were a hard plastic and in the right cold climate, catching it could nearly break your hands? No one thought to complain because if you did your friends would not only think less of you -- but kick you off the team. Remember when going out to play with your friends usually meant that someone was going to come home crying or bleeding, or both? It was just the natural order of things. America was addicted to competition and not only did we mix it up on fields and rinks but in flipping baseballs cards and even playing miniature golf. There was just a constant stream of events that produced losers and winners.

Then in early 70's the nerf ball was invented. At the time, it seemed like a good idea - kids could play ball in the house or outside without breaking a lamp or a nose. The idea that you could soften the impact of contact sports caught on. Then, in the 80's, they stopped keeping score. Like if the other team had more goals or points than you, it would send you into some post-traumatic tantrum. Then it was snacks after every game, win or lose. I got to tell you that life doesn't give you huge gooey cupcakes even when you fail. In the real world when you fail, you get fired. It's a lesson you should learn before you hit the workforce.

Soon, they were making all kinds of nerf things and softening up sports in general. In the early 90's, no one was cut from the High School team because that might crush poor little Johnny. God forbid, Johnny learn that he was really bad at tackling and he needed to actually run to catch someone. Nope, the world was becoming a kinder and gentler place -- so there was a place for everyone - even the kid who couldn't really play football.

When I grew up there was one trophy - it was for 1st Place. Anything less and you got nothing except a cold dead stare from your father who wanted to know why you threw like a girl for the last inning of the game. Now, we have trophies for 1st, 2nd, 3rd , 4th , participation awards, coaching awards, team mom gift certificates, and gift certificates for the people who got the gift certificates - I mean it's ridiculous. Let's stop congratulating ourselves every three seconds and learn how to lose again. Not everyone should get a trophy for just showing up. Indeed, when you think that people will give you stuff even when you don't try hard it creates the illusion that your best is not needed - when in the real world, capitalism demands your best. In fact, the definition of just showing up without regard to results is called mediocrity.

We turned this cute simple nerf ball into a drive to make everything in life cushier and foamier. And, this leaked into all aspects of American life from education to boardrooms. Even at Yale Law, the bastion of old school money and power, they stopped giving letter grades and made every class, pass/fail. Why are we so afraid to declare a winner? Come on, even American Idol is not afraid to do that.

Folks, capitalism is a contact sport - people are going to skin some knees and shed some tears. But at least it will be real and not some foamy version of capitalism that doesn't really hurt. Because when you grow up thinking that nothing bad can happen to you, you get a false sense of security. It is this false sense of security that is being shattered now.

So how is the nerf ball relevant today? Well, here's how: You know that housing bubble that started this entire mess, well that's our economic nerf ball. In the real world, the bubble is just that, a bubble -- by definition, it's going to burst. People are going to cry and people are going to lose money. Put simply, the housing bubble was a mirage - it didn't really exist. You didn't lose 40% of your 401K, you never had the 40% to begin with -- it was a mirage. Your house is not worth 30% less, it was never really worth what you overpaid for it - you bought a mirage or a bubble and you got taken (don't feel so bad so did I). Time for us to accept our medicine. Caveat Emptor - buyer beware. We were not on guard and we lost our money. Chalk it up to a very expensive lesson learned. But I might suggest that the expensive lessons are the ones that you never forget.

But what we should NOT do is somehow short circuit this lesson or blunt it so it can have a softer landing or impact. Sometimes softer is not better. Indeed, here, we are not really confronting our problems; we're merely shifting them to new generations. Generations' who don't even have a say in what we're doing? Quite frankly, I believe it's cowardly (if that word is good enough for Eric Holder, it's good enough for me) and un-American. In fact, one of the main unwritten rules of our great nation has been the notion that we work hard so our children can be better off. Do you think giving our kids a $10 trillion dollar debt might break that rule?

So when President Obama (and his team of economic advisors) tells you he has to save the banks, the insurance companies and the auto industry (and I am sure by next week there will others), he's really telling you that he thinks you're not tough enough to play the game with a real ball -- you're too weak and you need a nerf ball so no one gets hurt. I, however, think he's wrong. I mean come on, if Marcia Brady is tough enough to get hit square in the nose with a football and still attend a dance, then so are we.

I post guest blog entries from interested readers if they are thought provoking and they answer questions in the comments section after the entry.

To post comments you don't need to register or use your real name. I often delete comments that abusive or use foul language if someone emails me to request it.

Here is the latest from Martin Breen. After reading it give him some feedback.

Money For Nothing
By Martin Breen

I remember when I was twelve and I got my first newspaper route. I worked something like 20 hours a week and got paid $10 - 12 bucks a week (not much even by those standards) if the tips were good. But to me that $10 bucks was everything. I quickly realized that the more I worked, the more I made. The nicer I was, the more tips I received. The more efficient I was in assembling the paper and the faster that I pedaled, the less time I spent on my route and the more time that I could devote to my real love, baseball. What a great lesson in capitalism. I remember one particular rainy day when I was bemoaning the fact that I had 46 papers to deliver in the pouring rain, and my Father would not drive me, he told me that you don't get "money for nothing." My Father went on to say that "in America, we work hard for our money, and we're proud of that fact." This sense of pride, the American work ethic, would serve me well as I entered college and ultimately, the workforce.

But I am afraid that it is this sense of pride, the American work ethic, that is missing today. Quite frankly, I do not believe that many Americans want to work hard for their money. Instead, I would suggest that a certain level of entitlement has crept into our psyche that is completely contrary to the origins of this great country. I call it the "money for nothing" economy. Americans that expect to make a certain level of living, regardless of the value that they provide. It is this mindset, whether it is demonstrated by a Wall Street Banker or the Octomom, that makes me believe we're headed in the wrong direction.

Some examples are in order. The Wall Street banker who wants to make millions even if they have not made you or me one cent. As the AIG bonus fiasco so clearly demonstrates, paying people huge sums of money to lose money is completely absurd. You could also make a strong argument that while Wall Street plays an important role in lending and raising capital in our society, it does not actually create the jobs or the things that we produce. In other words, Wall Street is only the means, not the ends. Real businesses, like Ford, Caterpillar or a local manufacturing business -- those that create jobs -- truly provide value to America. Yet, Wall Street pays itself so handsomely that you would think their all 3rd baseman's for the New York Yankees. To make matters worse, in the last ten years, they have done nothing but shuffle papers around, selling the same crummy mortgages, over and over again. In fact, the derivate market grew to $683 trillion, which is twenty times the size of the U.S. Stock Market. You do not need a Nobel Prize in Economics to know that this defies common sense.

Adam Smith once said, "The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to man who wants to acquire it is the toil and trouble of acquiring it." Put simply, Mr. Smith espoused that the value of an exchangeable good or service is equal to the amount of labor required to produce it. Classical economic theory is that you should get paid a day's wages for a day's worth of work (I am simplifying). And, in America, this worked for employer and employee alike (with a little help from the Unions) as the middle class grew to epic proportions.

I mean do you remember when sales folks used to take pride in saving you money? Now, it seems like everyone just wants to rip you off and they don't care if you know it. Clearly, something happened between the Chia Pet (if your under age 35, google it) and Youtube and profit became a drug. Instead of CEO's making ten times the average worker (in the 70's), they started making four-hundred times (in the 90's) that same worker. The profit drug became an addiction and not only did they want millions when they were making money but even when they weren't.

Unfortunately, the free market forces became unbalanced and out of sorts with much of the wealth being shared by fewer and fewer. Indeed, as companies purged the workforce, outsourced jobs and stop manufacturing in the U.S., they simultaneously, transferred this wealth only to themselves. In other words, any savings that might have accrued to the shareholders, did not go to the shareholders but instead went to a small, insular group of corporate managers that voted themselves pay raises, stock options and golden parachutes under the auspices that it was the market rate. Of course, the market rate had been artificially set and tampered with by this new breed of robber barons. You do not need a Harvard MBA to make money by firing thousands of workers and outsourcing jobs. I might suggest that anyone could do that.

Moreover, company after company began raising prices despite the fact that they did not provide any more value to the customer. Consider the Airlines, now they charge you a baggage fee, meal charges, pillow fees, all, made-up fees that used to be part of something called your airfare. Did they provide you any more value? And, other industries are not much better. If UPS and FedEx and the cell phone companies want more money (and they always do), they create phony fees, like a fuel surcharge, or an environmental fee, an administration fee or even a cancellation fee. None of these charges were real or provided you and me any more value. And, this mindset even trickled down to the working class, as mechanics and laborers started demanding fees in excess of their value. I mean how many times do you go to an auto repair shop and these guys just seem like they charge you whatever they want. We truly became a money for nothing society.

This must change if we're going to turn things around. Value must be restored to its rightful place - as a foundation of capitalism. Look around your neighborhood and see what we manufacture or produce? We haven't made anything in quite a while; we seem content to be a "service" economy - where we just push papers around -- where we all just feed on ourselves. It's like a giant ponzi scheme with no one actually creating anything. And, thanks to Madoff, we all know how ponzi schemes turn out: One guy gets rich and everyone else loses they're life's earnings.

So how do we fix it? We let capitalism punish those that took excessive risk. We ask questions. We stand up in boardrooms and say that CEO's don't need to make $50 million a year. We become politically active. We refuse to pay a fifty dollar baggage fee. I know you think you don't have any power but you actually have all the power - you just haven't exercised it yet. Indeed, our greatest weakness, consumerism, may also be our greatest strength. Remember, you vote with your dollars every day -- Just like every vote counts so does every dollar.

From time to time I post guest blog entries submitted by readers. Email me if you are interested in writing a guest blog entry. Posting your entry is not an endorsement of your views. Just because I post an entry it doesn't mean I necessarily agree or disagree with a writer. For example, this guest blog entry has demeaning attacks on government workers. I don't think the language helps Martin's argument at all. But it is his argument, not mine.

Here is the latest from reader Martin Breen:

The Prime Directive

My view of capitalism is born from the school of hard knocks -- where success and failure are important to each other as the earth and sky. Perhaps capitalism is not for everyone, and, at times, it may seem cruel and inhumane. However, it is the best system that we have as all the others, such as communism and socialism, have caused far more cruelty and suffering. Indeed, our democratic capitalism, the one espoused by our founding fathers has laid the foundation for the greatest rise of a nation in the history of the world. Put simply, capitalism has led to the greatest two hundred years of economic prosperity for anyone willing to pick up a shovel or imagine the next great innovation.

However, at current, I wonder if we haven't so perverted our capitalistic system that it can never be repaired. I am reminded of the television series, "Star Trek," and the Prime Directive of Star Fleet whenever visiting a new planet or civilization. Namely, that Captain Kirk and company "could not interfere with the internal struggle of the civilization and alter its natural development." In other words, Star Fleet must stay neutral and allow the new world to succeed or fail on its own merits. I cannot help but think that this has always been a decent metaphor for capitalism and the silent, neutral hand of free markets. At its core, our country was built as a meritocracy; we should not be so quick to give up on it. But, of course, that's not what our Government, our elected, representative democracy has done. Instead, it has decided to violate the Prime Directive and forever interfere with the direction and history of capitalism. And, perhaps there will be serious and unintended consequences.

I might suggest that the capitalism is analogous to nature. They are both highly complex and closed systems that work as long as no one changes their course (btw - this is not an argument against regulation). Yes, there will be storms, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions that change landscapes and affect people's lives as sure as there will be recessions, depressions and business failures that will reshape the economic landscape. But to attempt to duplicate either of these systems would be nearly impossible. Can you imagine if the government had to control every aspect of nature? Would you even know where to start? How is it any different when we talk about capitalism? Didn't the fall of the Soviet Union teach us that artificial economic markets could not be sustained by mankind? At least, not without intense human suffering and the creation of the same kind of classes ultimately created by capitalism.

I might also suggest that the current crisis is so complicated and nuanced that only the best and the brightest should even consider jumping into the fray. There are, however, many who will state that it is the best and brightest that got us into this mess with all their so-called mathematical and derivative formulas. And while this notion is, of course, in part accurate, I think it was excessive risk taking that started our problem. And, this also goes to my next point. If a genius educated at our best schools with an I.Q. over 150 cannot figure things out, how do you suppose the typical government worker, the "C" student with a 110 I.Q., will meet this incredible challenge?

From top to bottom, the government is just not equipped to handle this current financial crisis. This is especially true, if they believe that they can outthink the markets. A recent dust-up may prove my point. AIG, the world's largest insurer suffers staggering losses and the managers responsible for it all claim they are entitled to nearly $165 million in bonuses and other compensation. The American people and President Obama are rightly outraged. But guess what folks, if the government did not step in and save AIG, these bad managers would have gotten nothing since AIG would have gone out of business and no one would have gotten anything, but the door. More fundamentally, it was the perversion of capitalism that created this odd result.

I will quote Thomas Jefferson because he is one of the primary architects of our democracy (republic) and every American should reacquaint themselves with his writings. Jefferson once said that "a wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." Jefferson certainly would agree that good government should adhere to the principles of the Prime Directive.

Here, it should be axiomatic that you cannot fix a leverage problem (i.e., borrowing too much money) by borrowing more. Indeed, borrowing so much, that you don't have enough paper to print the new money. Did you get that? We are printing so much money that we don't have enough paper to fill the orders. And, more importantly, we are not borrowing from ourselves, or even the Chinese, but our children and their children. Who are we to bind these future generations to such uncapitalistic decisions? Quite frankly, my as yet unborn grandchild may not want to lend me this money. In fact, since bad lending decisions, loaning money to folks that really couldn't afford the payments, created this current crisis, we would not even qualify to get these loans from our grandchildren. We are certainly a credit-risk and not worthy of a $3 trillion dollar loan, even from a family member.

So how do we fix the current mess? That's the beauty of the nature of capitalism - we do nothing and it will ultimately fix itself. Give the recent wildfires a chance to reseed the hillsides and you will see that the grass will grow again. In economic terms, let those that took on excessive risk and failed, fail. Let merit mean something again in America. Not everyone has to win every game and every race. Indeed, if everyone wins a race, then no one has really won at all.

I know it seems scary and callous and the talking heads keep warning you about this disaster or that one, but failure is the only way to ensure future long term growth. I mean think how arrogant it is to say that companies are too big to fail. Do you really think the United States is too big to fail? Keep bailing out bank after bank and company after company and printing money like health gym windshield flyers and see if we are not too big to fail? Actually, please don't.

( History fans: Can you spot the anachronism?)

I long time reader Martin Breen has written a guest blog entry that he asked me to post. If you want to write a guest blog entry send me an email. Posting a guest blog entry doesn't mean I support the contents of it, nor does it mean I am against the ideas expressed in your writing.

Please read Martin's editorial and then leave him feedback or questions in the comments section. You don't need to register or use your full name to comment.

Martin, are you against all earmarks, even if they are for projects that seem worthwhile? Rep. Gallegly put an earmark into a recent bill for work on local freeways. Are you against that earmark? We need a moratorium on all earmarks until the process is reformed.

Let Them Eat Pork
By Martin Breen Guest Blogger

This is our country, these politician's work for us, it's time for America to get off the couch, turn off the television set (yes, I know HD gives you a great picture) and get to work making these people listen to you. Start today, start tomorrow (at the latest, during next weekend) and send an email, letter, mumble under your breathe, but make your voice heard. Because if you don't do it now, there may not be an America left for you.