What is Happening to Our Country?

What is Happening to Our Country?

© 2014 Rick Adamson

By Rick Adamson 9.6.14

During the last half dozen years or so I have wondered many times ‘what is happening to our country’? I cannot remember a time when so many people were asking themselves the same question. I even questioned a couple of friends, who are in their 80’s, as to whether they had ever experienced such turmoil in terms of the economy, politics and world affairs and they replied that things, in general, seemed more amiss now than at any time in their lives.

I feel the same way although my experience spans a considerable shorter period than that of my friends.

Could you have predicted back in 2009 that, today, 56 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse? I mean, really, the recession is over! Isn’t it?

Well, it seems that only certain groups are doing better, e.g., unionized government, public and private sector employees, big financial institutions and quasi-government institutions (U.S. Post Office, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the like. The stock market is doing great so hopefully you have a 401(k). This may be short lived because it is being artificially propped up by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Ordinary everyday people are not doing so well. Despite promises made to many diverse groups, such as single women, African Americans, immigrants and others, I can think of none who have benefited from this administration’s policies. So much for the divide and conquer political strategy. A strategy that worked, in that it brought in the votes, but the promises were not kept.

One would expect that, given the state of the economy, FedGov would be bending over backwards to stimulate the economy and create jobs. But they are not. FedGov would rather have the regulators issue massive numbers of new regulations, on a daily basis, that make it more costly and difficult for businesses to function and create jobs. Think about the war on coal, failure to approve the Keystone pipeline, failure to approve additional (oil and gas) drilling on Federal land and in the Gulf.

You may have heard that the oil and gas industry is experiencing a boom. That is true but it is because of innovation within the industry not because FedGov has helped in anyway. FedGov is quick to take credit for it but don’t you believe it. The boom would be even more substantial if FedGov would remove its boot from the throat of the industry.

For that matter, the economy as a whole is being held back by the boot of FedGov. They need to chill out and let the economy run. Things will get worked out.

At the present time FedGov is taking in more money than at any time in history. They are also spending more money than at any time in history. The debt owed by FedGov has increased by $7,000,000,000,000.00 ($7 Trillion) over the past six years and now totals over $17,500,000,000,000.00 ($17.5 Trillion). The U.S. has accumulated as much new debt under Obama as it did in its first 227 years.

Where is all that money being spent? While the rest of us are taking a hair cut, FedGov is on a spending spree! What is happening to our country?

And things are just as messed up from a political point of view. Who would have guessed that this administration would have produced:
1. a president who would lie to the American people about such things as health care. “If you like your health insurance plan you can keep it”.
2. the first sitting cabinet officer in our history to be found in criminal and civil contempt for failing to answer subpoenas from the Congress. This related to FedGov’s illegal gun running operation called “Fast and Furious”. The scheme allowed guns to be purchased by unauthorized individuals (with the knowledge of the Feds) and shipped illegally to Mexico (without the consent of the Mexican authorities) and was intended to be the basis for a new ban on certain weapons in this country. The scheme blew up in their faces and contributed to the murder of at least two federal agents and hundreds of Mexican nationals. And Eric Holder refused to answer Congress’s questions about the debacle-unbelievable!
3. a National Security Agency head that openly lied to Congress about capturing and storing private communications of Citizens. He later explained that he told the least possible untruth! I guess he was saying he could have told a bigger lie.
4. an IRS that would target political opponents of the administration and then allow evidence to be destroyed. Officials lied before Congress and the Federal employee in charge (and on our payroll) refused to testify (while being allowed to retire and collect her pension)-disgraceful.
5. a situation where laws are routinely ignored, written and rewritten without constitutional authority, e.g., more than 25 changes made to Obamacare by executive order. Executive orders were never meant to change or make new laws, they were meant to assist the chief executive to enforce the laws as written by Congress. The president’s abuse of power has already been struck down as unconstitutional at lease 20 times by the U.S. Supreme Court. More challenges are on the way including a lawsuit by the House of Representatives.

The administration has been labeled a uber-presidency by Jonathan Turley, a respected liberal constitutional scholar from George Washington Law School. We are facing a constitutional crisis that he called “a tipping point”. He also said “there could be no greater danger for individual liberty, and I really think that the framers would be horrified by the shift…”.

Uber means-having the specified property to an extreme or excessive degree; very:
or, designating a person or thing that exceeds the norms or limits of its kind or class:

What is happening to our country?

And what about all those “phony scandals”:
1. IRS
2. NSA
3. Benghazi (people died!)
4. Fast and Furious (people died!)
5. VA (people died!)
6. Immigration (people died!)
7. etc.

I hate to mention it but foreign affairs are in just as bad a mess.
1. Ukraine and Russia
2. Iraq and ISIS
3. Syria
4. Israel and GAZA
5. China and the South China Sea

What is happening to our country? This reads like a Chicago style political playbook. We have a management crisis in this country. It should be obvious to everyone by now – the administration does not have a clue about how to run this country. The requirements far exceed this administration’s legitimate pay grade.

I don’t know about you but I am ashamed and embarrassed. However, one great thing about our country is that it is strong enough to survive any presidency, even a failed one. Unfortunately, it may take years and years to repair the damage.

GOD bless America'