Is Mankind Making Progress on the Fundamentals?

I have not been posting to the Bullmoose Journal very often recently. Most of my writing has gone to my other blog, Poochie Williamson's Page, which is dedicated to less the less profound, but more personal, things in my life.

Since I started the Bullmoose Journal, I have discussed a number of topics that I believe should be of concern to all of us: the war on terrorism, the energy "crisis," fair taxation, etc. I decided now is a good time to assess how much progress, and in what direction, has occurred on some of those topics.

First, global warming and alternative energy. I stated that I am not sure whether global warming is real or not. I also said that if it is a reality, the chances are slim that humans are the primary cause, or that the people of the world can take enough action quickly to reverse the trend. Since then, scientists have reported evidence of global warming on Mars and Jupiter. That makes me lean toward accepting that global warming is a fact, but intensifies my belief that we may not be able to do much to stop it.

I have stated, however, that even if increased conservation and the development of non- CO2 emitting energy sources do not have much influence on global warming, it makes sense to pursue those aims. Unfortunately, our government still won't let us build nuclear power plants. It has also done little or nothing to accelerate the development of the hydrogen fuel cell auto, to incentivize research and development of better and cheaper technology for wind and solar energy sources. The government had an opportunity to do those things in the energy crisis of 1974, when a 50-cent per gallon gasoline tax would have increased the price to a whopping $1.85 per gallon. Now the price is over $4.00 per gallon, and neither Republicans nor Democrats in Congress have lifted a finger to pursue the logical alternatives. The only gas we are getting is the hot air from Washington.

Many people think the "big oil" lobby is behind this. But the Department of energy says that the refiners only get 36 cents out of the $4.00 per gallon, and that their profit margin is 7.6%, as opposed to an average of 9.2% for other producers. The big bucks ($2.96) in four dollar gasoline go to the oil producers. The fault is in our country's energy policy, which has not been to reduce our dependence on the foreign oil imports through either additional local drilling or through the development of alternative energy sources. Again, both Republican and Democrat administrations are guilty here.

I also discussed the need for a truly fair tax structure, not for the purpose of redistributing wealth, but rather to see that every person carries his fair share of the tax burden. Democrats do not want the lower 50% of wage earners to pay any taxes, and Republicans refuse to increase taxes for the wealthiest 1%.

The Federal statistics on income show that the wealthiest 1% of our people accrue about 22% of the nation's overall income. Their median tax rate is about 22% of taxable income, which is well above the national average for individuals. But beware!!! First, Congress has written our tax code so that for the wealthiest 1%, large portions of their income are excluded from their "adjusted gross" and taxable incomes. Their median tax rate of 22% tell us that half of these people, including the President and the Vice President pay much more than that rate. On the other hand, half of them pay much less than 22%. In fact, about 2000 of these wealthiest 1% paid no taxes at all. Adding to this disparity, roughly the lowest 1/2 of our nation's wage earners contribute only 3% of the total federal taxes.

As a result, the economic middle class (those who earn between $50k and $200k per year) are carrying nearly all of the federal tax burden. There is not even a hint of remedy to this problem from either party.

Another topic I have expressed criticism on is the handling of the war on terrorism. I stated that having opened a "second front" in Iraq on this war, we were obligated to confess some of our tactical blunders and finish the job efficiently. Well, the administration never really did the former, but it has made significant progress on the latter. But we have paid the price in the form of some backsliding in Afghanistan, and in virtually no progress in getting our "semi-ally," Pakistan to correct the al-Qaida problems in their country. Democrats, at least, appear to seek a relatively quick exit from Iraq and to increase the pressure in Afghanistan. But neither party shows me a commitment or a plan to fix the mess in Pakistan.

Then, of course, there is the illegal immigration issue. Have you noticed that as the presidential campaigns ramp up, this topic is virtually ignored. Ask yourself which is more important to our presidential candidates--the personal power gained by winning the election, or our national security? The answer, of course, is the win; to achieve that, neither candidate can afford to anger the Latino voters. Progress has been made on the wall for the southern border, but at a wretchedly slow pace. The subject of amnesty will alienate either Latinos or conservatives, depending on how it is presented. Illegal immigration has been a non-issue for Democrats since the beginning of the primary races. And it is an issue to be avoided by Republicans, now that their nominee has been determined. This issue impacts virtually every American with respect to economics, crime, and health care. But at the poles, we can choose among a batch of candidates who refuse to acknowledge the importance of the issue and meet it head on.

One other area of concern is the increasing level of ignorance in the United States, along with a general decline in civility among our citizens, and a general lack of individual accountability among them. Our government tries to put the knowledge burden on our schools with tests, achievement standards, and money. But you cannot test for personal values, or for the ability to recognize bad choices and accept the unpleasant consequences thereof. Schools can assist with those kind of things, but the real burden is on the parents. Unfortunately, most parents today don't have those values, or don't have a clue about how to pass them on, and they don't care.

Whether you believe that humanity has had the opportunity to improve this condition for 6,000 years or for 60,000 years, you have to accept the fact that most of us are doing a lousy job. For many, it is because their parents did a lousy job. Millions of words have been penned about the importance of teaching our children knowledge, skills, ethics, morality, civil behavior, and responsibility. Those elements are fundamental to an advanced and balanced civilization. Lack of them either causes or aggravates the other problems we are dealing with.

We know that most of a person's basic behavior patterns are learned by age 4, before he has even seen a school. Yet many parents are mucking up the job as much or more than their prehistoric ancestors did. Now some of the products of these incompetants are teaching in our schools. Our elected officials have no understanding of the nature of this problem, nor of realistic solutions--they are, in fact, part of the problem. The answer has to come from a strong commitment within each individual person.

Don't accuse me for whining about these things, or for blaming it all on Government. After all, we as individuals elected the lawmakers and administrators in Washington. We have the obligation to instill sense, civility, and accountability in our offspring. Those of us who are striving to understand and improve the situation earn an "E for effort." I just want to wake up the 95% of our citizens who don't know and don't care.