From where did you receive your wealth? by Arnie Sherr

From where did you receive your wealth?

I write this not as a democrat or as a republican; but rather as a well informed and intuitive senior who hears clearly from both ears tremendous varieties of opinion about whether those who have declared themselves authorities over our present economic dilemma are correct in pursuing the present course. What impacts most is those from which I hear this myriad of opinion, few are 100% succinct.  In fact, were it not for their desire not to come to blows, I think malady might occur in the streets of America.  Ahh, a heated subject for most it is.

Yes, I hear the passion in everyone’s voice. I thought I had it figured out; but, like most I am remain confused. I won’t waste time writing of the staggering numbers and comparisons thereof; what I will write is of its only viable solution. I am not alone as many TV news media pundits and guests have made this same suggestion.

Although many wealthy Americans have been fortunate to have been born after family wealth had been achieved, many not so inherently fortunate were able to accumulate their own wealth during recent years.  But from and through whom did their precious wealth emanate? I submit that its birth flowed from the buying habits of Main Street. Even if theirs grew more from Wall Street strategies, that which influenced market ups and downs was directly attributed to the spending habits of those residing on Main Street. Ergo my question, from where did you receive your wealth? And, Could it have been from Main Street?     

Main Street criticize those of Wall Street and those who CEO major American Banks and other financial institutions as being greedy and not giving a hoot about those living on Main Street. Although I feel this summation to be accurate I must confess I wish daily that such wealth might fall my way ASAP. I suspect I am not in the minority!

So, I guess its okay to depict Ken Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America and the big three automaker CEO’s and others who have been berated by Congressional hearing officiates as incompetent; but, is it okay to criticize them for their thirst for more and more wealth? Is this not a kind of double standard?

Me; well I buy a lotto tickets twice weekly and any other time I’m near a lottery machine I buy two or three scratch tickets. I tell myself “hope I win enough to pay for the groceries I just bought” when in fact, I thirst for the biggest prize printed to the ticket front – “$1000.00 per week for Life” and etc.

Myopic may be the word I attribute to President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Why? Simply because we are in unchartered waters and history tells varying stories of similar but nowhere as big challenges. Who shall I believe; to what myopic agenda shall I buy in? Although the pundits and their guests have much to say (yea and nay), it is from those with whom I cross paths daily that I reference most. I can only surmise; if something is so complicated and controversial it may not be what it is cracked up to be! So, what then is the solution?

Reversing an original Thomas Jefferson quote yields quite the opposite; “If you give back to those who worked for the benefit of those who would not, our Democracy will be revived” it is apparent and only a “caveman” cannot envision of its meaning that the solution lays in the pockets of the American people; especially those who reside on Main Street.   I revel that within this reversal is the “trees for the forest” solution; If we must borrow and create debt for the taxpayer then give that which is borrowed to those who shall be forced to pay it back, the taxpayer.

It is predicted that before all is done our government may spend of our open ended debt as much as one, two or even as much as three trillion dollars; one failed exercise after another. There are some 140,000,000 working Americans and adding to that a lesser number of retired, at the end of 2007 was 50 million; it is then reasonable to send a check in the neighborhood of approximately $35,000 to each of those Americans who's incomes are under $300,000 annually, and to those collecting social security. Can it be imagined how quickly the American people shall fix the problem?

• Suddenly thousands of soon to be foreclosed homes would be saved,


• Those who’s homes by no personal fault are upside down may effect a fix,
  
• Past due credit will be brought current,
  
• Parents will be enabled to go ahead with college plans for their kids,
  
• Graduating and working American students will be able to pay-off a significant portion of college loans,
  
• Auto repossessions will cease back to normal numbers,
  
• A sudden influx of spending shall create business for suffering retailers, small and large and down the manufacturing and import lines growing the CPI,  
  
• Many will put some of their newfound windfall into bank-hosted saving accounts and/or money markets, and so much more...

The congress in it present state of hypocrisy will not be required to determine the degree of punishment for those companies and corporations who through all of this have been exposed for their unethical and sometimes illegal abuses on the American people. Now, the American people will decide with whom to do business; with whom to save their monies, and with whom to invest for theirs and their children’s futures.     

This is not rocket science; yet the American people remain apathetic while of varying degrees of objection over the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. We need to stand-up and make ourselves heard.

Moreover, it is the American people who are responsible for the wealth of the wealthiest; the comfort of those rich, and the stable finances of those who’s ranting continues on Wall Street; yet their ambivalence is obvious and disconcerting to those on Main Street. But then I ask, who among wouldn’t rather be ranting, living off our riches, or basking carelessly in our mega-wealth?  Let’s no be too hard on the rich and famous; I believe they like this as little as we.

We and they must stand and be heard. In the 60’s marches on Washington were common expressions; thousands of sixteen wheelers lined Pennsylvania Avenue in protest of high diesel prices at the pump, equal righter’s paraded in many cities to be heard; who I ask, is protesting now?

Send e-mails; write letters; march if you must; but please speak-up before it is too late.