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Sent into my local paper...doubt they will publish.

While taking a break after graduating from and college before I returned to school, I personally stopped writing a fantasy novel because I became very concerned about the state of our nation. Like all Americans, I am concerned about job security and what the future may hold for my family and friends. However, the former is a constant concern—something we all worry about whether the market is up or down. But now, I am concerned about the tone of the recent presidential firsts the have been occurring with an alarming rate.

While I applaud Obama for trying to become a modern president, appearing on David Lettermen and attempting to have his voice heard on a daily basis so Americans feel that they are involved in the process of their government. But, why do I feel so unsatisfied? Why do I feel like I have become a vicarious participant within the United States of America?—I equate this vicarious feeling to watching reality television. A sour taste enters my mouth as I realize I feel this way about my government.  

Seeing our president appearing on television so often, makes me question the manner of man that we have in office. Do we have a celebrity president legislating? Yes, that is right—I said legislating. No, I am not confused. But I have gotten ahead of myself, yes, we must take one step back.

Since when has a president been able to fire a CEO?  The CEO of General Motors was fired by none other than Barrack Obama. While I understand that the government lent to this company a large sum of money in an effort to prevent the lost of many jobs that many Americans across the nation have come to depend upon. I am not just referring to the union workers; any business large or small begins a tangled web of cash flow to a myriad of other businesses. I am not business savvy enough to debate whether this was the best use of stimulus money or not—I am no economics major. My bank account suffers from less scrupulous passions I have found in life. But, what does concern me is the executed power President Obama wields, seemingly from a throne. And, he has made speeches, focusing the anger of the American people at CEOs. May I remind you that they are private citizens! While I know that these men and women are no angles and live in a completely different reality than the rest of us Americans, I implore you to think upon history realize the horrors that men have committed when they from an office of power focused the anger of the public toward a certain race, group, class, orientation or even gender of people. When you gain this perspective, the hairs on the back of your neck will crawl and a small lump may form in the back of your throat.   

While I realize that our markets and our businesses need regulation to prevent them acting as sovereign nations within the border of our nation, the president being able to control who is—or who is not a CEO of a company sets an alarming precedent. The charter of corporation gives power to those who hold a vested interest in the success of the company. If the CEO of General Motors were failing at his job, those who hold a vested interest in the success of the company will fire him. These are the rules of our land founded in decades of contract law. The stability of these rules has lead to the wealth our nation has been able to accumulate. If you examine why other countries struggle to amass wealth, I believe you find one of the main problems is stability. People invest in stability.

However, President Obama has now given himself the power, if he so chooses, to remove a CEO.  Why should I invest?—that does not seem very stable. In fact, I think that this is one of the main thoughts of investors on Wall Street. The man telling you that he is saving jobs—whatever that means—may actually be the reason why corporations are fearful to invest in the future. Perhaps this is the reason that the banks do not want to lead money. When ever businesses become fearful of the economic conditions, they begin to shrink the amount they invest in the future, allowing them to amass a pile of cash to react to swift changing conditions. This money sitting in coffers, waiting for dooms day does nothing to create or save jobs.

I remember hearing a story as a child:

There were three sons and the father gave money equally among them. Their father left for three years. The first son squandered the money, investing frivolously. The second son took the money and hid it away, waiting for the day for his father to return because he feared loosing what his father had given him. The third son wisely invested the money, and in three years, he had doubled the money his father had given to him. When the father returned home, he spoke to all three of his sons. The Father was very proud of his third son, who had invested his money wisely. Then the first son told his father how he had poorly invested his money. The Father was disappointed but was still proud of his son. When the second son returned the exact amount to his father that he had given him, his face became grief stricken. The Father told his second son that he wish he had failed as the first son. The second son had done - Nothing. Our businesses are trapped in a state of milking their cash cows and hiding the money in glass jars, because the rules keep changing.  

I can only wonder how China is beginning to feel as we increasingly become unstable. Remember they are, currently footing our bill. I cannot believe they are not beginning to question our actions as a nation. In the end, actions are what matter. Not appealing camera smiles. But really, why should I invest?—the rules may change tomorrow. Living for the here and now, even in people’s personal lives has never lead to promising prospects. Maybe- just- maybe there is something in those musty old books that our founders wrote that lead to the wealth of this nation. Why are we allowing these rapid changes? Have the rules of this land not served our nation well? The regulations did not fail us. The people regulating did.

Speaking of regulating, why do we have Tim Geithner regulating our treasury when he failed to pay his taxes? Remember Obama appointed him, and part of his position encompasses charge over the IRS. Does he not believe the money is well spent? When you pay taxes, you are investing in the future of your nation. If the average citizen fails to pay their taxes or evades taxes, they are thrown in jail—isn’t that how the FBI nailed the mob bosses. So where is the end to the corruption; where is that “CHANGE” that we were promised?

This new executive power is possibly more frightening than the Patriot Act. I want you to realize that Obama legislated by changing contract law. Bankruptcy is covered in contract law, and there are regulations set for how a corporation’s assets should be partitioned during failure. The allocation of these assets according to contract law increases stability and prevents CORRUPTION. Your liberties are protected by contracts. Your house, the car you drive, the phone you talk on, the software you download on your computer are all regulated by contracts. These agreements protect you. Our founding fathers recognized the value of contracts because they  previous had had their liberties being violated. The constitution and the bill of rights—don’t kid yourselves—those are contracts too.