New Seniors

The United States is the number one producer of corn in the world. We grow twice as much as second place China and more than the rest of the top ten combined. An important food commodity in countries around the globe, corn is also an ingredient in many processed food and in many non-foods products we use daily. American farmers will plant a record 92 billion acres of corn in this crop year. But there is a problem.

Battleground states, such as Wisconsin and Ohio, have changed party majorities. There, more financially conservative governors, supported by like-minded assemblies and senates, are making news as they fight for reform. But the huge blue states, drowning in a sea of red ink, may be forced to come up on the side of the people rather than the union leaders if the party in power hopes to survive the next election.

When folks in Japan awoke on that fateful Friday many began planning their day and thinking about what the weekend would bring. At 2:46 PM Sendai time their plans went out-the-window and the grim reality of surviving the aftermath of the 9.0 earthquake was all that mattered. What good could possibly come from this disaster?

Public unions had a good run, but the race is over. The leaders must stop colluding with politicians while holding the rest of the population hostage. Unless they rethink the demands public unions make on all taxpayers, Americans could turn on them faster than a fish left out in the sizzling summer sun.

“Look for the union label,” was a familiar jingle following WWII. This ad campaign, paid for with funds from union dues, was heard over the airways for many years after the war was over.

Nearly 70% of US citizens are dissatisfied with the federal government’s size and the power it wields. And 7 out of 10 adults surveyed believe the moral and ethical climate of the country is wrong, which represents a seismic attitudinal shift in less than a decade.

The finger-pointing continues as the economy remains stalled, unemployment stays high and inflation creeps into all our lives. Politicians blame the opposing party. Voters think both sides are responsible. Most Americans believe they know more about economic issues than their elected representatives.

The national debt has increased to more than $14 trillion dollars as of mid-February, 2011. This translates to about $125,000 per US household. Without serious spending cuts and major changes in the way government handles the money we entrust to it, future generations will drown in a sea of debt, which we created.

Since an overwhelming majority of adults are for prayer in our nation’s schools, why has the practice been all but eliminated? Continued attacks by individuals and small yet vocal groups, including the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) have been orchestrated over the years to make this country free from religion rather than one that subscribes to freedom of religion.

All levels of government are having financial troubles. Much attention has been given to the federal situation, but state and local government are finding ways to increase revenue through hidden taxes, fees and charges. These tricks cost the average person money but is below the radar just enough to not be a cause célèbre.