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Posts Tagged ‘U. S. Congress’

How About Some Respect

January 5th, 2015 No comments

I wish many things for 2015, but one in particular is “Respect for others.”  The basic concept of respect covers a large spectrum of subjects; I am mentioning only a few in hopes that my comments will stimulate your thinking.  Perhaps together we can come up with a list of things we all need to do to help make respect for others more prevalent in 2015.

 

In my opinion respect for others starts in the home with young children.  Parents need to teach and practice respect for themselves and other members of the family.  I am appalled at how some parents talk to their children and allow their children to speak to them.  I witness some parents and children shouting at one another, and sometimes using foul language.  This is teaching disrespect that goes far beyond the family.  Parents need to teach children early on how to disagree with another person without shouting and yelling and name-calling. Read more…

Follow the Money

October 17th, 2014 No comments

When writing last week’s article, Where did that money come from?, a banker called my attention to “Bitcoin,” a virtual currency introduced in 2009.  An informal survey I took indicated that few people know very much about “virtual” currencies.  So this week I decided to do a brief sketch of the historical development of the U.S. monetary system, hitting the highlights of what most of us have known and perhaps become a little foggy about, concluding in more detail with the development of virtual money.  Acknowledging that I am not a currency historian, after extensive research I am using layman’s terminology to explain things as I understand them. 

The value of a country’s currency is basically dependent upon the country’s integrity and having the assets necessary to pay its debt and back up its currency.  This was a real problem for early Americans prior to, and for several years following, the Revolutionary War. Read more…

Loyality and Responsibility

June 5th, 2014 1 comment

What would you think if the owner of a Ford dealership always purchased General Motors cars for his family to drive?  Or, what would be your reaction if the owner of a McDonald’s franchise always took her family to eat at a Wendy’s?  Although there is no written law that people have to be loyal to the products they are selling, we naturally expect them to be. 

  

It seems to me that we as taxpayers have a right to expect this same type of loyalty from people who are employed to conduct the business of the federal government.  But according to statistical reports published by USA Today, as of last September 3.9% percent of all federal employees owed back taxes, and the percentage is on the rise. Read more…