An American Speaks Out
Enough Is Enough
by
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Now It Is Personal Our economy in America has been declining over the past several decades and with that went jobs, income levels, pensions, local tax bases, technology and innovation, education, trade skills, and more importantly, the spirit of a free America, a land of opportunity, governed by laws, all of which our nation was founded. And with it we gained trade deficits and budget deficits. The new American republic established in 1776 was the beginning of a democratic commonwealth that would one day possibly extend to many nations. This new form of government was envisioned made by a select few founding fathers, designed to allow for separation of church and state, the emancipation of all people, and established controls on the power of the state. The four page hand written Constitution still serves as a manual to our political framework and the greatest form of government in the world. The forethought found in the document is unbelievable. But it is only as good as the paper it is written on if the principles set forth as the foundation are not practiced and protected by the American people. The President and Congress establish the rules by which our economy functions and how it directly affects Americans’ job opportunities, tax liability, retirement savings, health care and educational opportunities, interest rates, and inflation through the laws enacted, policies and programs implemented, and regulatory practices. Therefore, politics is driving our economy. Unfortunately, the nature of the beast is reelection. If public officials allow lobbyists, campaign funding, big business, and political party caucus and gridlock to drive their decisions or inaction, Americans will be and have been adversely affected in their standard of living and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Since the Supreme Court has allowed unlimited campaign funding, our only option is to seek out better candidates to run for public office and vote for these candidates, regardless of political party affiliation or amount of campaign funding. Americans are tired of political games supporting lobbyists and big money policies, they want consensus and action on important national and global issues. Americans are tired of extreme political parties, finger pointing, and the party caucus system that promotes party unity at the expense of bipartisan consensus and the unity of our nation. They want action directed toward the middle, for the greater good. Americans are tired of the federal government and congress managing and passing legislation by crisis. The policies are reactive and not necessarily appropriate, may be vastly more costly, and create more problems. Americans are tired of government overreach, unaccountability to public responsibility and values, fraud and wasteful overspending of tax payer dollars. Some recent examples are the Internal Revenue System, Veterans Administration, Obamacare, the border crisis, social security disability and welfare fraud, and executive orders that are unconstitutional just to mention a few. Americans are tired of low and stagnant wages, unemployment/under employment, and raising costs for food, gas, education, and health care. Americans are tired of job and retirement insecurity caused by outsourcing jobs, creating what looks like to some as corporate greed and un-American values. Americans are tired of home devaluation and the inability to secure refinanced mortgages with lower interest rates and being subject to fraudulent mortgage loans and home foreclosures while the CEOs and banks that tax payers bailed out are faring well with high incomes, severance packages, and bonuses. It is apparent that politics is standing in the way of adequately serving the American people and making any progress towards change. The arrogance of both branches of government is appalling. Don’t forget that the legislative branch is elected by the American people to serve as public servants to the citizens of the U.S. and the executive branch is elected and funded by the American people to carry out federal government missions and foreign policy necessary for the good of the country. Neither should function for self-interest. Over the past 40 years, public policies have radically helped the wealthy and harmed the least fortunate, forced American businesses overseas, and directly exposing so many average working Americans to such widespread insecurity. We have known for decades that the governmental budget deficits and accumulating debt needed to be addressed to avoid future generations from suffering the ultimate impacts, including selling ownership of our country to other countries. The American people are concerned with the revitalization of the economy in the form of jobs for those who want to work and focused fiscal priorities that provide better access to health care and education through lower costs, infrastructure improvement, and other public works. Education and health care costs continue to rise along with increasing unemployment, food prices, and until recently, gas prices. 12 million people were unemployed in 2012, down from 14 million in 2011, taking a toll on families’ well-being. The federal policies and regulations enacted over the years have deterred the growth and sustainability of small business and manufacturing in this country, the practices of big business that outsource jobs overseas for more profits, the greed and corruption of the “too big to fail”, “too big to prosecute” financial institutions, the BP oil spill, and the contamination of prescription compound drugs not properly regulated, and the lobbyists and big business that control the politicians and public policy for their financial gain. Trying to resolve the deficit in the wrong way is having a direct impact on the economy, jobs, and public welfare. There are a lot of moving parts to be analyzed in correcting these problems and they will not be corrected by “sequestration” or any other mindless strategy. It took years, if not decades, to get into this mess. Many policies, programs, and individuals have caused this mess. We must change consciousness to do what is right for the greater good, not for politics, greed, or the status quo.
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About the Book
“There are fundamental flaws in our political system and the policies, cost, and function of the federal government that seriously need to be corrected for this country to be the great country it once was for all those seeking the American dream. The American dream is different and personal for each individual, but the concept revolves around the ability for all people to be free to self-actualize their talents, abilities, and desires, not just for fame and fortune, but in order to live a happy and prosperous life. Thus, the American dream is about ensuring that we look out for the greater good in our policies and legislation that support opportunities for health, education, housing, research and development, innovation, jobs, and retirement. We have contracted with our government officials to carry this out. If they are not willing to act, then we must react by seeking out good candidates and voting for them.” In a timely discussion, her book provides some common sense ideas on how to put the government back in the hands of the people who have had their lives turned upside down from loss of jobs, the mortgage crisis, high cost of education and healthcare, risky 401ks, and an insecurity in the future not seen since the Great Depression. She outlines how the nation got into such a mess and proposes a domestic plan to focus on the national priorities most Americans are concerned about. She outlines how to get Americans back to work, reduce the federal budget deficit, establish national priorities, make congress functional so it can do its job, make the federal government more effective and efficient, better educate our children, improve our infrastructure, and, as a result, hopefully reduce crime and create opportunity for our people.
About the Author
Nancy Elshoff Parks spent thirty-six years as a government public servant. She worked three years as a legislative analyst, subcommittee staffer, and bill drafter for the West Virginia Legislature in the late 1970s. In 1980, she went to work for the federal government as a program analyst. She retired in 2014 after thirty-three years of federal government service. She has a degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati. She knows how the federal government works from having worked in the government. She understands the legislative process as well. She writes this book as an American citizen concerned about the future of our nation and the futures of our children and grandchildren. She sets out to understand the political and economic policy situations that have impacted the middle and lower classes of Americans as they struggle to rebound from decades of money and power games over our government officials and policies. She analyzes many of our political and economic problems and provides specific recommendations on how to fix many of the problems in hopes of providing a guiding light into the future of America. She has lived most of her life in Ohio. She is married to her husband, Dan, and has a son, Mason, and two step daughters, Bridget and Andrea, and two step grandchildren, Thomas and Victoria.