Bulls and Bears

This is a letter I wrote to Bulls and Bears in November 2008.  It is still relevant, and will likely be for some time, to our nation’s problems.  I thought I’d post it in my blog before deleting it from the e-mail sent folder:

I found it somewhat tragically amusing to watch the alleged experts on the economy on the Saturday morning (11/22) program Bulls and Bears as they all gave their opinion on how we can revive the economy.  It’s like watching a bunch of people walking through a forest asking, “Where are the trees?”    Before a solution can ever be found to a problem the first thing that has to be recognized is how the problem developed.

Before the oil producing countries started their extortionist program of raising the price of crude oil out of sight, the economy was cruising along very well.  It wasn’t going to be long before every household was going to find their budgets strained that would eventually translate into people’s inability to keep up with their bills and mortgage payments.  Trucking and airline industries were to see the cost of fuel more than double putting more of a strain on the consumer. 

No one should need a PHD in economics to know that a country is only as well off as what it can produce.  I’ll take the “street smart” guy over the PHD any time.  Playing checkers with the available cash, as is being advocated by the participants on the Bulls and Bears program, is nothing but a bunch of smoke and mirrors.  When my father was out of work after his business of research and development of electronics failed in 1929, he used his skill at glass blowing to make neon signs.   Using his bike, he pedaled from store to store getting orders where he could so he could put food on the table for his family. 

The economy is now in a train wreck.  It takes time to clear a train wreck before the trains can run on time again.  This won’t be easy considering the fact that the electorate has put the wrong people in charge of fixing this economy.  We’ve got to get into production the development of our natural resources.  We can be ninety percent independent if we bring up our own sources of crude oil.  Oil producing countries would be competing with one another to provide this country with the other ten percent.  This country has the knowledge of how to mine for coal in an environmentally friendly way.  If the environmentalists in this country want to do the world a favor they should have us mining for coal here instead of leaving it to third world countries who do not take the pains we take.  Along with tapping our own sources of crude oil and a more aggressive mining of coal we should get refineries and nuclear plants built and also do everything we can do to develop renewable sources of energy.  Every possible means of producing energy should be applied.  Unemployment would be reduced to a point where only those incapable of working and to those who won’t work.  Revenue would pour into the State and National treasuries and we would be able to pay down our national debt and we would not be hamstrung in our ability to manage our foreign affairs.     

Enamored by a glib talking, charismatic young Hollywood star-like personality and with the help of an irresponsible media the electorate has given us a president that does not believe in any of the things I just mentioned.   The argument that it would take X amount of years to be effective should be a non-starter if we’re concerned about what our legacy would be for future generations.   And a more immediate effect of this developing of our own natural resources would be to be putting people to work and a general restoring of everyone’s confidence that the economy is on its way to recovery.