Little paper/rant my friend Jake wrote.

I have always hated politics. I still do. People that know me have been asking me, “Why do you all of a sudden care so much about politics?” I’m tired of seeing a large portion of my paycheck go to pay for things that I disagree with. My taxes--$16,000 last year--were more than they have ever been and still our national debt rose to over 15 trillion dollars. It was 5 trillion just 10 years ago. If you don’t know me, I work a lot. Last year I put in 80-100 hour weeks for about 8 months. Then the government stepped in to take a large portion of the money I worked hard for only to turn around and spend it on wars, welfare, bailouts, and free healthcare. So, I began to ask around to find out if most people were upset like I was.
The responses I received surprised me. Most of the people I asked didn’t mind giving a large percentage of their money to the federal government. When I would follow up and ask why, I almost always got the same response: “Our taxes go to help our community. We need taxes for roads.” My response was, “Well, actually most roads are paid for by the state. Your state taxes and tolls pay for those.” The usual response was usually, “Well, what about schools, police, firemen, etc?” Some of the people I spoke to had degrees in economics or were studying for a degree in economics. Now granted, some federal government funding trickles down to the state level, but our state tax dollars pay for all the aforementioned costs. All of the things that seem to directly benefit and sustain a community come from property tax and state sales tax. Most people I began talking to didn’t seem to realize that. I can only assume it was because they were residents of Texas, renting, and had never directly paid property tax. Yet, everyone who pays rent is indirectly paying property tax. If you rent, then someone owns that property and they are paying property tax on it. Your rent dollars indirectly go to pay property tax.

“Well what do my federal tax dollars pay for?” I thought you’d never ask! Well we’ve spent an estimated 3-4 Trillion dollars by having troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I say “having troops there” rather than saying “war” because technically in order to “go to war” the President has to go to Congress, ask for a declaration, and a vote has to pass to declare war (this never happened with our most recent invasion of the Middle East). Yes, President Bush was authorized to use military force for resolutions. But to me, that sounds like a loop hole in policy in order to use our military for whatever the President wants without actually declaring war. Having 150,000 troops occupying other countries for years is a war and it is expensive. If you want to be over there trying to fix problems that were sparked during the Cold War, then do it with democracy: Take a vote. Declare war. If you don’t want to read about it, watch the movie Charlie Wilson’s War or this clip.

Where else do we spend our tax dollars? Well we bailed out a car company because we didn’t want a bunch of Americans to lose their jobs and to have a major American industry take a dive. Don’t we believe in Capitalism anymore? Isn’t Capitalism American? If someone has a bad service or makes a bad product then the demand goes down and they either fix it or file for bankruptcy. Did General Motors file for bankruptcy and become a smaller, more efficient version of its former self? No, they asked the government for money and the government gave them billions. When was the last time you saw an Oldsmobile or Mercury and said, “Man! I have got to have that!” Yet, people say we had to do it. We just had to bail them out. It was our duty as Americans. Really? Well why didn’t the all-American Ford get bailout money? They asked for a line of credit, but not a handout. I’m not saying a line of credit from the government is right (that’s a whole different topic), but it’s far better than a free handout. What do our actions say to companies that get in financial hot water in the future? Go ahead and take risks that you shouldn’t. If you fail there are no repercussions. We’ll get the government to help you out.

What about banks? The same banks that Americans enter to apply for loans took bailout money. Why did they need bailout money? Much like Mitsubishi Motors in the past, the banks gave money to people who couldn’t pay it back. CEOs of major banks and corporations received bailout money and gave themselves bonuses for letting a business fail. Nice work.

I work in restaurants. If my competitors had an inferior product, bad atmosphere, and awful service, I would expect them to fail. If the government swooped in and gave them money to help them turn a profit, I would be furious. What motivation would I have to work hard if I watched my competition succeed based on how steep their failure was. It’s not fair to Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes, etc. It’s not fair competition. We are literally breeding laziness. Speaking of which, let’s talk welfare.

Welfare was first established to help those in need. Growing up during the oil collapse in Houston, I have seen firsthand that the economy can take a dive and that hardworking smart people can struggle to find a job. I understand the need for programs dedicated to help people who literally cannot keep themselves afloat. Welfare used to be something that was embarrassing. Now it is celebrated and expected. I’ve seen misuse first hand. In grocery stores, I’ve witnessed people using food stamp money to buy chocolate covered strawberries on Valentine’s day or huge $40 cakes for birthday parties. Some argue, “Well shouldn’t they be allowed to celebrate?” My response is, why not bake a cake? Why not do something special for your loved one? Overspending on luxuries is something you must sacrifice when going through a rough time.

I’ve seen people sell their food stamp card for cash. I’ve heard people talk about having another baby just to get more money from the government. Why is wrong to ask welfare recipients to submit to drug testing? Some defend the recipients’ children. Do you really think a drug addicted parent will use their welfare money on a child? I’ve had people come in to interview for a job dressed like a slob; cussing, chewing on dip, and unable to answer basic questions with a complete sentence. At the end of the interview, they would slide a piece of paper across the table and ask me to sign it proving that they were out looking for a job so that they could still qualify for benefits. When is enough, enough?

I’d like to talk about free healthcare, but this is already getting too long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6DlFehh0SQ

So, why do I care now? Well, my view before was that no one running actually had a very different view from the rest. They all broke promises. They all lied. They all altered their opinions to reflect the majority. Why vote when my options were between a sleazebag and an A-hole? Then, along comes Ron Paul who has been speaking the truth his whole career. His message has been consistent, but was easily dismissed because it wasn’t what people wanted to hear: “Wait, I might actually have to work hard to get the things I want? Why would I want that?”
Ron Paul literally wants to bring our troops home. He’s not just saying that as if he’s reading it off a bumper sticker. People argue that would put us in danger. Can someone explain how having another 150,000 troops here at home puts us in danger? “Iran might be making a nuke!” Didn’t we learn our lesson with Iraq and their so called “weapons of mass destruction?” People call Ron Paul dangerous and label him an isolationist. We’re acting like the guy at the bar who has had too much to drink; who tries to pick a fight with anyone looking in his direction. Is being at the bar, minding your own business considered “isolationism?” Is Canada considered an isolationist because they aren’t policing the world? How would Iran even get a nuke to the United States? We can’t afford to be at war anymore. Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, North Korea. Where does it end?

Ron Paul believes in restoring the constitution. Pro-life or pro-choice isn’t even a stance for him because he doesn’t believe that it’s the federal government’s right to decide such social issues. He wants to shrink government.

Everyone is worried about creating jobs. Jobs aren’t created by the government. They’re created by people who have the money to employ workers. Obama is trying to take credit for the economy. It’s absurd. We’re further in debt than we’ve ever been. What Obama is proposing is similar to getting an advance on your credit card, then believing you’re better off financially because you have cash in the bank. It’s not. You owe it back--plus interest. I could have done a lot with my $16,000 that I paid in taxes. I want it back! Our Founding Fathers fought against taxation without representation. Who is representing me? Someone who wants to take my money and buy tanks, chocolate covered strawberries, and democracy in other countries? Wake up! We don’t even have democracy here, at home.

Take a minute and watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuRyaRG3tio&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for reading. If you disagree, I respect your opinion. This is my attempt at a “blog” and is meant as an explanation of my recent affiliation with something that I would normally steer clear of. America is supposed to be about freedom to do what you want as long as you aren’t stepping on other people’s rights.. Let’s get back to that.

Jake

What makes you think we will listen to you in the future if you don't listen to us now?

Open Letter to Politicians, Voters, and Main Stream Media Outlets:

What makes you think we will listen to you in the future if you won't listen to us now?

           I hope you understand the gravity of what I am about to explain to you.  This letter is just one part of a demographic but I'm saying it because I believe we deserve a voice.  I also understand that this isn't pointed towards everyone but if any of this offends you or makes you angry then this letter is probably for you.  Just remember: Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.

          Quit saying that the older crowd is trying to protect, serve, and inform the youth of today.  We are tired of hearing your lies and we won't take it anymore! We like equality. We like truth. We like trust.  These are the most important qualities this generation is coming to adore.  You can say you have these qualities but you have none of them! 

            Equality and tolerance is probably one of the most important things in our life because we want to be equal to each other.  We have learned that it is the older and "more experienced" crowd that teaches bigotry.  You are born with equality and tolerance! We thank you for teaching us to read, write, and simple things to obtain more knowledge but beyond that... Quit it!  What we now like is to be taught where to find information so that we may come to our own conclusions.  Be tolerant to others and be tolerant to us and you might remember a time in your life when you felt the same.  I am purposely leaving this very vague because we believe in ALL equality.  Equality and tolerance of race, ideas, age, speaking time in debates...

         Truth is the key to our hearts.  It isn't jobs, gay marriage, religion, or any other moot talking point that people like to jam down our throats.  "The path to Hell is paved with good intentions." Your intentions on trying to teach us what is good in moral is showing ignorance in the messages of our Creators, Founders, and ancestors.  Things change over time and you must learn to accept these changes as we get older and society gets more tolerant. If you can't do this, then get out of the way.  We grew up with the Internet talking to people from around the world for several decades now.  We play online games, communicate, and learn from each other instantly being thousands of miles away.  We do not want to kill, mandate, or fight with other countries unless its in a digital video game. We are more curious to their cultures than you think and we ask questions about what is going on in other countries from them and not your disgusting pundits.

        Trust cannot happen without truth and you have lost our trust because you will not give us the truth.  Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or any other MSM channel are all used to describe a position and not give us the news.  We do not care about your opinions.  If you want to see where you are headed, just ask Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly about their ratings compared to a year ago.   The second place you can look where you are headed is the Revolution News Network.  If you haven't heard about it yet then you can look it up and take some notes.  They have had one broadcast and had over 200,000 viewers. 

        This takes me to my last point: we will get what we want.  Whether its this election or the next, we will not change our message and will not change our beliefs.  You all have been jaded in this society and in one or two generations we will have taken over and changed it ourselves. If you're doing it for us then why don't you ask what we want?  Give us some insight, but do not try to get us to conform to your outdated and immoral ideas.  We have woken up and we will not sleep until this world has changed so that our future generations will not have to put up with bigotry, war, and "necessary pre-emptive" murder of fellow humans.  Yes, there are evil people in this world but maybe they aren't necessarily evil but misunderstood and just need someone to listen to them just like I am telling you that we WILL be listened to either on collective terms or be forced that they are on our terms.

Jesse Penick is a 31 year old Supply Chain Major student at the University of Houston-Downtown and a member of the Youth for Paul Organization.