Democracy is alive, our freedoms are intact and dialogues are great. However, when discussions rise to a level where political leanings take over, both sides should know better to cease their discourse. It does not serve Main Street to watch the exchange of political punches. It is evident that Main Street has had it. The Washington landscape has not changed. The issues are the same and the state of the country is not any better.
Imagine parents engaged in a heated, destructive argument in front of their children or a company president dismissing a suggestion for improved product standards to be competitive. A similar scenario has been playing before our eyes for a long time. The same issues remain unresolved because they get bounced from one place to another. Not much is done as half of the time is spent on blaming each other while Main Street suffers. The pain has been manageable in past years and the few who stood for it were not heard. Their voices are not loud enough.
Not today. Main Street is severely hurt and they are showing it. Their concerns are real. Their futures unsecure. They are unable to leave a legacy for their children. They can hardly meet their basic needs.
I know because my job is to help them secure their future.
In the face of it all, it is disappointing to see our leaders to be combative, defensive and determined to push forward their agenda and get it done. Wouldn't it be in everyone's interest to take a breather and look into the reasons behind the noise? Let's not be quick to dismiss it as partisan politics. It is not.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com/
Here is your compass - based on the book, Destination Points A Values-Driven Journey.
About Me

- zoni
- I'm your next door neighbor with serious concerns about our America. Most people have been silent about things that matter because they do not have the facts. This blog's mission is to educate you about the issues that impact your financial security, your health and your values. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matter". Speak the truth. Be empowered and stand on the facts. Rise in righteous indignation and together we can effect the change to take back America.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A Matter of Priorities: Healthcare vs Social Security
In May of this year, Social Security announced that program costs will exceed revenue by 2016, one year sooner than what was reported last year. Additionally, the social security trust fund will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than projected last year.
Shouldn't social security merit top priority over healthcare reform? Think about our children born in the 70's with no supplemental retirement benefits. Why pay into social security at all? Most of them are currently unemployed and unable to set up their own individual retirement plans so as not to rely on social security. Such a bleak picture of the future should be compelling enough to command urgent action.
If that is not enough, consider this: to pay all scheduled benefits over a 75 year period, the social security trust fund would need additional revenue equivalent to $5.3 trillion in today's dollars. The country's projected deficit over a 10 yr. period is a whopping $9 trillion!
Why is the administration rushing to pass the healthcare reform bill this year? Haste makes waste. Is this the way to run government? Set priorities, lay out a plan and stay focused on the goal. It appears that the agenda is to react to issues triggered by special interest groups under the banner of serving the public interest.
Can we please have a plan to reform social security before next year's annual report?
http://riyah6.blogspot.com/
Shouldn't social security merit top priority over healthcare reform? Think about our children born in the 70's with no supplemental retirement benefits. Why pay into social security at all? Most of them are currently unemployed and unable to set up their own individual retirement plans so as not to rely on social security. Such a bleak picture of the future should be compelling enough to command urgent action.
If that is not enough, consider this: to pay all scheduled benefits over a 75 year period, the social security trust fund would need additional revenue equivalent to $5.3 trillion in today's dollars. The country's projected deficit over a 10 yr. period is a whopping $9 trillion!
Why is the administration rushing to pass the healthcare reform bill this year? Haste makes waste. Is this the way to run government? Set priorities, lay out a plan and stay focused on the goal. It appears that the agenda is to react to issues triggered by special interest groups under the banner of serving the public interest.
Can we please have a plan to reform social security before next year's annual report?
http://riyah6.blogspot.com/
Healthcare Reform This Year - Why the Urgency?
The rush to reform healthcare is turning into an obsession for the people behind it. Their message is clear: get on board or the train is leaving the station. Taking such a stance might work in other cases of change management. I facilitated one on managed care in the mid-90's. It was my job and it had to be done. It became evident to me, soon after, that such a change was not in the public interest because the focus was on the bottom line. Still is. I should mention that I was out of that league really fast. Taking care of the concerns of Main Street is what I do now. I expect the same of our elected officials, aka public servants.
It is plain to see a parallel here and I just have to question the urgency to pass the healthcare reform bill this year. The effects of managed care have contributed to the complex problems in healthcare. The proposed bill does not provide clear and specific answers to people's concerns. The sales pitch is coverage for the uninsured and the unhappy insured and the details will be worked out later. Is it really the public interest that matters or that of special interest groups?
All sectors of the healthcare industry, not lobbyists, should be represented at the table to give legislators a clear picture of our healthcare system, its impact on the economy and public welfare. More importantly, get a representative account on the plight of the uninsured and concerns of the insured. You can't go wrong getting the information directly from the horses' mouth. Do all these now through December and rework the bill next year. How could that hurt the public good?
For me and Main Street, saving social security should be top priority.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com/
It is plain to see a parallel here and I just have to question the urgency to pass the healthcare reform bill this year. The effects of managed care have contributed to the complex problems in healthcare. The proposed bill does not provide clear and specific answers to people's concerns. The sales pitch is coverage for the uninsured and the unhappy insured and the details will be worked out later. Is it really the public interest that matters or that of special interest groups?
All sectors of the healthcare industry, not lobbyists, should be represented at the table to give legislators a clear picture of our healthcare system, its impact on the economy and public welfare. More importantly, get a representative account on the plight of the uninsured and concerns of the insured. You can't go wrong getting the information directly from the horses' mouth. Do all these now through December and rework the bill next year. How could that hurt the public good?
For me and Main Street, saving social security should be top priority.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 3, 2009
Palin quits to make it right- go for it
Action speaks louder than words - way to go! Alaska should be proud of their governor. It is time to open our eyes to what lies ahead and it is not pretty. I am very concerned for my children's future. It just might be that we need Sarah Palin to move mountains.
It was high time that she spoke up; she has been unfairly beaten up. Her surprise announcement was a blow to those who constantly put her down. They are all bothered and bewildered now. Sarah Palin's boldness serves them well.
I will be watching Sarah Palin's next move.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
It was high time that she spoke up; she has been unfairly beaten up. Her surprise announcement was a blow to those who constantly put her down. They are all bothered and bewildered now. Sarah Palin's boldness serves them well.
I will be watching Sarah Palin's next move.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
Monday, March 23, 2009
AIG did well for the financial services industry
What's playing before our eyes is exactly what I had written about in earlier blogs. We have legislators who write laws and know very little about what it is they are doing. Picture this - someone introduces a bill, discussions ensue, votes taken and the bill passes or fails. This may sound simplistic but one can only imagine the time spent on these proceedings and the amount of legislative work performed behind the scenes. Ever catch the legislators walking around or nodding off to slumber land? Even worse, think of the reams of paper going through the printers with thousands of copies for distribution only to be revised, discussed over as a matter of procedure as nobody reads them anyway.
Guess what, as the government gets bigger, the dysfunctional system as we now have it, will eventually collapse. I would like to believe that this country has well-intentioned leaders who care to leave a legacy for our children and their children. Why can't the focus be on what lies ahead for them? It is critical to move on productively, get rid of self-serving interests and live the Golden Rule.
It is a fact that we are faced with a number of issues. However, we know that when faced with multiple concerns, we need to prioritize. Why is it so difficult for the administration to take one problem at a time? Is it more important to deliver on promises made during the campaign at a time when we are in the midst of a crisis that's begging to be addressed? How can you win over Main Street who is hurting and needs relief? Perhaps Tim Geitner should step down and allow Eliott Spitzer to take over. Perhaps it is time for the president to consult with those who have served before him. We now see that experience does matter.
Undoubtedly, this financial crisis should bring about more than a paradigm shift. But make no mistake to have the government dictate the changes. The financial services industry, collaboratively, must change the way they do business, from product design to market and distribution with financial products that serve the best interest of the customer and not the company's balance sheet. I think that bonuses if awarded at all should be dependent on whether the customer's interest was well served. Bonuses and extravagant trips spur greed and consequently ignore doing what is right for the investor whose only goal is to have a more secure future.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
Guess what, as the government gets bigger, the dysfunctional system as we now have it, will eventually collapse. I would like to believe that this country has well-intentioned leaders who care to leave a legacy for our children and their children. Why can't the focus be on what lies ahead for them? It is critical to move on productively, get rid of self-serving interests and live the Golden Rule.
It is a fact that we are faced with a number of issues. However, we know that when faced with multiple concerns, we need to prioritize. Why is it so difficult for the administration to take one problem at a time? Is it more important to deliver on promises made during the campaign at a time when we are in the midst of a crisis that's begging to be addressed? How can you win over Main Street who is hurting and needs relief? Perhaps Tim Geitner should step down and allow Eliott Spitzer to take over. Perhaps it is time for the president to consult with those who have served before him. We now see that experience does matter.
Undoubtedly, this financial crisis should bring about more than a paradigm shift. But make no mistake to have the government dictate the changes. The financial services industry, collaboratively, must change the way they do business, from product design to market and distribution with financial products that serve the best interest of the customer and not the company's balance sheet. I think that bonuses if awarded at all should be dependent on whether the customer's interest was well served. Bonuses and extravagant trips spur greed and consequently ignore doing what is right for the investor whose only goal is to have a more secure future.
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Financial bailouts needed for economic recovery, so they say
That's the gist of the President's 52-minute address last night. After all these months of economic turmoil, the powers that be cannot clearly define a plan of action. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Elected officials with self-serving agendas? Legislators in the business too long that all they do is conduct hearings and introduce more legislation?
In the meantime, Main Street continues to suffer. Raiding the taxpayers money in government's custody deprives our children of hope for their future. Retirement assets that were diligently accumulated knowing that Social Security might not be there are close to becoming depleted. 529 plans designed to fund college education no longer can be relied upon. Credit variable finance fees are climbing up, how can consumers look forward to the day their accounts are finally paid in full?
Playing into the emotions of the taxpayer effectively sells the big picture which is - more government spending laced on the fringes with tax cuts in the form of reduced payroll taxes. Do you really think that the taxpayer will get some relief?
Financial bailouts have to stop. Give an inch and they need a foot. Help one and not the other. You just can't tell Main Street that it needs to be done and oh, Mr. Biden will police the banks. Just what we need, more regulations on top of a system that is falling apart, if not already broken, as a result of excessive regulations and lack of enforcement.
Paraphrasing Paul McNulty of Pimco, he said that the economy is now in intensive care and the government holds the scalpel to do what needs to be done. No sir, on the contrary the conditions are far too critical to simply forge ahead and take a stab at it. Since Mr. McNulty advises the administration, he should instead recommend to move the patient out of intensive care to another facility.
Why not create an independent agency that will absorb and handle all mortgage-backed troubled assets, deal with foreclosures and at risk property owners? Funding the costs to set this up will certainly not be in the trillions and the taxpayers can hold the government as the sole entity responsible for effective management.
I am not a proponent of Starve the Beast but it seems that the Beast is sitting at the "all you can eat" table. Has the Beast called Jenny yet?
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
In the meantime, Main Street continues to suffer. Raiding the taxpayers money in government's custody deprives our children of hope for their future. Retirement assets that were diligently accumulated knowing that Social Security might not be there are close to becoming depleted. 529 plans designed to fund college education no longer can be relied upon. Credit variable finance fees are climbing up, how can consumers look forward to the day their accounts are finally paid in full?
Playing into the emotions of the taxpayer effectively sells the big picture which is - more government spending laced on the fringes with tax cuts in the form of reduced payroll taxes. Do you really think that the taxpayer will get some relief?
Financial bailouts have to stop. Give an inch and they need a foot. Help one and not the other. You just can't tell Main Street that it needs to be done and oh, Mr. Biden will police the banks. Just what we need, more regulations on top of a system that is falling apart, if not already broken, as a result of excessive regulations and lack of enforcement.
Paraphrasing Paul McNulty of Pimco, he said that the economy is now in intensive care and the government holds the scalpel to do what needs to be done. No sir, on the contrary the conditions are far too critical to simply forge ahead and take a stab at it. Since Mr. McNulty advises the administration, he should instead recommend to move the patient out of intensive care to another facility.
Why not create an independent agency that will absorb and handle all mortgage-backed troubled assets, deal with foreclosures and at risk property owners? Funding the costs to set this up will certainly not be in the trillions and the taxpayers can hold the government as the sole entity responsible for effective management.
I am not a proponent of Starve the Beast but it seems that the Beast is sitting at the "all you can eat" table. Has the Beast called Jenny yet?
http://riyah6.blogspot.com
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