Supporting Information and Facts

Each paragraph below is a brief commentary and introduction to a specific problem area together with a link to a material article or supporting information. As you read each item below, stop and ask yourself if you think it would be appropriate to have the American people step in and end the irresponsible management of our government through a more direct voice in the approval of our government's overall budget.

1. Government Spending and National Debt
   The national debt has increased at the astronomical rate of $1.5 billion per day over the past several months. How much longer do you think America can keep doing this and survive? For more info, click here.
   
   
2. The Cost of War
   Notwithstanding the fact that war is perceived by many as creating an absolutely inexcusable loss of human life, we may never be able to recover from the financial ramifications of our past and current military operations. Is it time to end, not instigate, military conflicts to achieve our foreign policy objectives? For more info, click here.
   
   
3. Corruption in the Courts
   More and more folks are experiencing the corruption in the US legal system at the hands of judges and attorneys who operate outside the constitution, rule of law, and ethical guidelines. How long will our free enterprise really last if a common citizen can't get a fair hearing in court? For more info, click here.
   
   
4. Congressional Pay and Perquisites
   In addition to salaries that now automatically increase every year (regardless of whether or not Congress is doing a good job), most people don't realize the extraordinary added benefits; including the right to employ dozens of staffers for salaries of up to a $150,000 a year or more. Do you think that Congressional salaries and benefits should be more dependent on good performance as measured and assessed by the people? For more info, click here.
   
   
5. Medicare Cost
   Some experts say that the cost of Medicare is already way too high without adding more costs through more universal entitlements (like prescription drug coverage). However, are the real problems more related to waste, fraud, over-pricing, and otherwise inefficient government administration and control? For more info, click here.
   
   
6. Minimum Wage
   When you look at the history of the minimum wage, it is no wonder why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Should Congress be allowed to raise its own salaries, as it has every year for the past ten years, without raising the minimum wage? For more info, click here.
   
   
7. Health Care
   The health care arena epitomizes just about everything that can go wrong with a predominantly government controlled system which is out of control. The escalating costs of both health care and health-care insurance are leading individuals and businesses alike to financial ruin. Does it all boil down to too much paperwork and profit margins which interfere with effective health care? For more info, click here.
   
   
8. The Immigration Crisis
   Immigration policies and procedures are directly related to both national security and the national economy. Is the bottom line to this problem simply that the United States must first learn to take care of its own citizens' well-being before extending a helping hand to the citizens of other counties? For more info, click here.
   
   
9. Vicious Cycle of Consumer Debt
   Just a few years ago, for the first time in history, American consumers owed more than they made. For many, this has started a vicious cycle of having to borrow even more to stay afloat; or to even think about paying for such items as health care, college tuitions, or buying a new car (never mind the fact that it would cost every man, woman, and child over $25,000 to pay off the national debt). Is there something fundamentally wrong with the fact that our government can just print more money to help pay its own bills while we pay "retail" interest rates to borrow money to pay ours? For more info, click here.
   
   
10. Usury by Banks
    Many folks are shocked to learn that Congress has exempted, by law, certain banks from usury laws and that's how these banks get away with 20 to 30 percent interest rates on credit cards in some states. Why shouldn't these banks be subject to the same usury laws that apply to anyone else willing to lend money? For more info, click here.
    
    
11. The Value of your Money
    Each year, your money is automatically worth less and less by way of the government's monetary policies and actions which create more and more new money with less and less to back it up. Would it help if the people were empowered to just say "no" to unnecessary government expenditures? For more info, click here.
    
    
12. The Energy Crisis
    Although there is an obvious need to develop and utilize alternative energy sources to accommodate our future energy needs, our dependence on foreign oil is, perhaps, the single and most crucial underlying factor which has precipitated conflict in the Middle East and economic turmoil at home. The bottom line is that oil reserves have peaked and will start running out faster than they can be replaced. Is it time to get a whole lot more serious about conserving energy and developing alternative energy sources? For more info, Click here.
    
    
13. Prison Costs
    An astounding 2.1 million people (1 out of every 138 U.S. residents) are now in prison. Also, notwithstanding the tens of thousands of dollars it costs to support both inmates and prison facility each year; the death penalty imposes a total extra cost that is in the millions of dollars per death row inmate. Do all these people really belong in jail or is there simply too much money to be made by the government and legal system to put them, and keep them, there? For more info, click here.
    
    
14. Costs of Higher Education
    In a country where just about everyone agrees that higher education is of paramount importance, many are struggling to understand why it should cost so much. Government subsidies are decreasing and not keeping up with inflation or increased enrollment. Should higher education have a higher priority? For more info, click here.
    
    
15. The Drug War
    Contrary to what our government representatives would have us believe, we have lost the war against drugs and there is no hope to win it; especially given the "there's a drug for everything" mindset we have developed in our society (and especially in children) through the legal promotion and mass-marketing of alcohol and prescription drugs. How much longer can we just keep throwing the users of illegal drugs in jail and keep thinking that we are accomplishing something? For more info, click here.
    
    
16. The Federal Reserve Bank
    It is impossible to understand the gravity of America's fiscal crisis without understanding the history of the Federal Reserve Bank. Would it surprise you to learn that President Andrew Jackson (pictured on the $20 bill) once said, in opposition to the creation of another privately owned bank in America, "If the American people only understood the rank injustice of our money and banking system - there would be a revolution before morning..."? For more info, click here.