This past week a lot has been made of the corruption and fraud in the organization called ACORN. I will spare you and myself a retelling of this, but if want to bring yourself up to speed you can look here.
ACORN has attempted to portray the situation as a problem at the local level. Of course many will say that the problem starts at the top. I do agree that when fraudulent behavior seems to be endemic ground level of an organization there is probably a problem from the top down.
Most believe that corruption is endimic in our nation's capital. We all want to point to corruption and dishonesty in Washington D.C. and blame our nations problems on our politicians. I would reverse the situation with ACORN and apply it to our country. The problems we see at the top of our government originate at the bottom.
What I am getting at here is that the problems we face are a result of our collective lack of honesty and integrity. One of the areas where we are dishonest is in our desire to find fault with and blame others for our problems. Yeah... I know you don't do that, but everybody does. We all do this. Conservatives fault liberals, liberals fault conservatives, independents fault everyone but themselves... You get the idea.
The problem is that in this process of blame, fault finding and back biting we lower our expectations. The ends begin to justify the means for everything. There are no longer boundries for right and wrong. Truth is in the eye of the beholder.
The current drama related to ACORN is an example of this. The organization was infiltrated by the use of deceit. The infiltrators were pretending to be a prostitute and a pimp. In other words they were lying. Of course ACORN is now deffending itself by claiming that they were framed. The truth is two wrongs don't make a right. The argument that we get from both sides though is "The other guy's wrong makes my wrong right."
I want to be clear that my point is not that ACORN is in the right or that infiltrating the organization was wrong. My point is that we as Individuals need to strive for our own personal honesty and integrity and not let the wrongs of others justify our own faults. The only way to restore the integrity of our country is to start from the ground up.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Energy, Economy and Security
Last year as the economy descended into chaos and the election rhetoric heated up, oil prices skyrocketed. At the time there was a good deal of talk about energy policy and the need for more domestic energy production. And yet here we are a year later and little has changed. With the elections over and one party fully in control little thought is being given to domestic energy production.
Some things have been done to encourage conservation of energy, such as the "Cash for Clunkers" program. However, in the case of "Cash for Clunkers"the motivation was still more about encouraging car sales to boost the economy and protecting the environment than a concern for domestic energy availability.
Of course I am not against boosting the economy or protecting the environment. What I am really concerned about is the continued failure to develop a long term plan for domestic energy production.
One would think that if those who are in power were truly interested in the long term health of the economy, the environment and national security, they would be actively pursuing a domestic energy plan. Instead they treat these matters as issues that are in opposition to each other.
Successful modern economies run on inexpensive energy. Offices, operation centers and customer service call centers all have lights computers and data networks that consume huge amounts of electricity. Farms have tractors and other equipment that run on combustible fuels and electricity. Transportation networks depend on combustibles and also use vast data networks, which consume electricity, to keep track of their cargo. Hospitals use electricity to run equipment that save lives. Manufacturers use systems that require huge amounts of electrical and combustible energy in their processes as well. Since every industry requires energy every industry is sensitive to higher energy prices. That's why when the cost for diesel goes up so does the cost of a head of lettuce.
Where the environment is concerned there seems to be a view that if we get it somewhere else it won't be as bad for the environment. Unfortunately the truth is that the only place we truly have control over environmental impacts of energy projects is here. We can't control what safety measures sovereign nations implement or don't implement when drilling for oil, even when it is just a relatively short distance off our own shores.
There is also the impact of the economy on the environment. A strong economy provides for money and innovations that can help protect and even improve the environment. A bad economy often results in broken infrastructure and failed systems that can quickly and heavily pollute the environment.
The National Security of our country also depends on energy. When we are dependent on foreign energy sources we need to protect those sources. This often entangles our military in foreign conflicts. Also the further our energy has to travel to get here the more vulnerable it is to being interrupted by natural or human causes. An earthquake in a distant land can cause the price of oil to jump several dollars in one day. A border dispute between two countries can have the same result. Other risks are embargoes, market manipulations, terrorist attacks, etc.
By increasing our domestic energy production we can shield ourselves from many of the risks that are out there. We can keep costs down, strengthen our economy over the long term, and choose methods of production that are better for the environment. Spending money on the development and implementation of cleaner, more reliable energy supplies such as domestically produced electricity from solar, wind, natural gas, coal etc. will create jobs and industries that can benefit our economy in both the short and long term.
I invite your comments and encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions on this subject.
Some things have been done to encourage conservation of energy, such as the "Cash for Clunkers" program. However, in the case of "Cash for Clunkers"the motivation was still more about encouraging car sales to boost the economy and protecting the environment than a concern for domestic energy availability.
Of course I am not against boosting the economy or protecting the environment. What I am really concerned about is the continued failure to develop a long term plan for domestic energy production.
One would think that if those who are in power were truly interested in the long term health of the economy, the environment and national security, they would be actively pursuing a domestic energy plan. Instead they treat these matters as issues that are in opposition to each other.
Successful modern economies run on inexpensive energy. Offices, operation centers and customer service call centers all have lights computers and data networks that consume huge amounts of electricity. Farms have tractors and other equipment that run on combustible fuels and electricity. Transportation networks depend on combustibles and also use vast data networks, which consume electricity, to keep track of their cargo. Hospitals use electricity to run equipment that save lives. Manufacturers use systems that require huge amounts of electrical and combustible energy in their processes as well. Since every industry requires energy every industry is sensitive to higher energy prices. That's why when the cost for diesel goes up so does the cost of a head of lettuce.
Where the environment is concerned there seems to be a view that if we get it somewhere else it won't be as bad for the environment. Unfortunately the truth is that the only place we truly have control over environmental impacts of energy projects is here. We can't control what safety measures sovereign nations implement or don't implement when drilling for oil, even when it is just a relatively short distance off our own shores.
There is also the impact of the economy on the environment. A strong economy provides for money and innovations that can help protect and even improve the environment. A bad economy often results in broken infrastructure and failed systems that can quickly and heavily pollute the environment.
The National Security of our country also depends on energy. When we are dependent on foreign energy sources we need to protect those sources. This often entangles our military in foreign conflicts. Also the further our energy has to travel to get here the more vulnerable it is to being interrupted by natural or human causes. An earthquake in a distant land can cause the price of oil to jump several dollars in one day. A border dispute between two countries can have the same result. Other risks are embargoes, market manipulations, terrorist attacks, etc.
By increasing our domestic energy production we can shield ourselves from many of the risks that are out there. We can keep costs down, strengthen our economy over the long term, and choose methods of production that are better for the environment. Spending money on the development and implementation of cleaner, more reliable energy supplies such as domestically produced electricity from solar, wind, natural gas, coal etc. will create jobs and industries that can benefit our economy in both the short and long term.
I invite your comments and encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions on this subject.
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