IRAQ's Civil War

VP Biden deserves credit for the suggestion, he made long ago: Let the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shiites form their own states in a loose federation.  However, against all odds, we imposed the artificial Iraq boundaries set up by Churchill on the 3 distinct ethnic/religious groups, forcing them to  get along with each other in spite of their differences.   We never ask them!  Even now Hillary says, it would be unfair to let them have separate states.  Who are we?  Who is she?   Doesn't anyone in the West have respect for their civil and political liberties?

As it happens, they may finally get their own way in spite of our interference.

The decline of the Middle Class

The decline of the Middle Class and the increasing income disparity is a symptom, not the cause of our decline. In the after WWII years, we didn't have a global economy and it was easy to find well paying jobs without a getting college degree. Globalization has changed all that. Nowadays, industry needs more highly skilled employees to compete in a more technology oriented global market and low skill jobs have been taken over by robots. On the other side of the equation, our public schools have not kept up with demand and the rest of the world, especially in mathematics and the sciences. College students have not tuned in on the high paying curricula. So unemployment among the technically skilled (i.e. engineers) is practically zero, because the graduation rates of engineers and technicians is far below demand.

Decline starts when our primary education is not keeping up with China, not with inequality of income.

Entrepreneur Driven Education Reform

I trust Minerva is only the tip of the iceberg for entrepreneur driven education reform. The exiting institutions are overpriced and underperform, creating great opportunities for new players, who think outside the box. For example: Why should it take 4 years to earn a BS in electrical engineering. Fast learners using an interactive digital curriculum may finish at their own speed, may be in 1 or 2 years. May be Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would have earned a degree, if they were able to proceed at their own pace. Being held back by the slow learners is a serious shortcoming of the outdated lecture format.

Economic Freedom in the World

The data is in. If we apply logic, we can end the argument. The data compiled for over 140 countries in both, the "2010 Index of Economic Freedom" by the Heritage Foundation and the "2010 Economic Freedom in the World" report by the Frasier Institute, clearly show that economic growth and per capita income increases and poverty decreases with Economic Freedom. The reports also show why some poor countries remain poor and others improve.

It seems the Robin Hood or Socialist idea is emotionally very attractive and economists touting Socialism of one form or an other are politically motivated.

Snowden and the NSA

Our image abroad has been hurt by our immense data collection worldwide, not by Snowden getting asylum in Russia. Our data collection activities receive more attention in foreign news media than here at home. In Germany the NSA is compared to the STASI (State Security Police in East Germany).

The Military/Industrial Complex (MIC) now feels threatened by Snoden's disclosures. The MIC has most of Congress, Democrat & Republicans alike, and the mainstream media in their pocket. This is evidenced by the House Leadership clamp down on the popular Amash amendment to CISPA. As the the distrust of government rises, the MIC will clamp down more & more on our personal and economic freedom.

I hope the Republican Leadership's support for the NSA program will backfire.

America Land of Liberty?

We take claim to be the worlds beacon of liberty, while we spy on our citizens, use government agencies (i.e. IRS) to go after political enemies, forfeit private property without a trial, authorize the President to suspend Habeas Corpus and use SWAT teems to break into peoples homes.  It does not help being #18 on the latest Frasier Institute "Economic Freedom in The World" report right after Qatar.

Our Economic Decline

We should look in our own backyard for the reason our economy is hardly growing any longer. Our social engineers have have caused the slowdown by diverting money previously re-invested in the economy, into financing failed social programs. Rather than helping people to get a good education, become independent and earn their own living, these wise guys enslave them on Uncle Sam's Plantation.

Lets not forgot to mention that power hungry politicians have grabbed the power away from businessmen and entrepreneurs and put them into a regulation straight jacket.

A farmer, who consumes most of his harvest (of course he has an urgent need for the crop) and does not reinvest enough of the seeds into the next crop will gradually produce less and less. Of course for a while, he can borrow seeds from another well managed farm, but that does not reverse the downtrend.