Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons

Minnie Bee's Rant:

     Unless you're a certain cast member of  "The Real Housewives of New York City," you understand that to "make lemonade out of lemons"  means to create something positive out of something negative.  This past week brought the United States some challenging lemons:  earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, and roller coaster financial markets, just to name a few.  Although most of us try our best to avoid problems, some things - such as the acts of nature we have experienced this week -  are beyond our control.  In all tough situations, most of us do what we can to survive with as little damage to ourselves, our family and friends, and our property as possible.   However, as much as I hate to admit it, challenging situations usually also present positive opportunities. 

      In last week's blog post, I ranted that President Obama's jobs plan needs to include a jobs-creating role for the federal government, and ranted about the conservatives who call such federal jobs creation programs "socialism." As a result of the hurricane, earthquake, and storms this week, there are now more opportunities for making lemonade by rebuilding and refurbishing our infrastructure.  These opportunities could be filled by a federal jobs-creating engine that puts Americans back to work.  

     In last week's post,  I also compared the concept of a "socialistic" federal jobs program with the more widely accepted practice, albeit greater evil, of flooding  U.S. markets with products made in the People's Republic of China.  The United States has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs to China, aka the People's Republic, and we are losing more each day.  On top of this, the companies who are outsourcing jobs to China advertise and promote themselves as "American companies," make billions off of U.S. consumers, and pay little back to the United States in taxes.
    
     As a case in point, let's take a look at GE.  General Electric used to be an American company.  It was founded by the esteemed American inventor and businessman, Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the incandescent light bulb.  In 1876, Edison began exploring electrical devices in a small laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.  By 1890, Edison established the Edison General Electric Company, and in 1892, when Edison merged his company with a competitor, the new business became the General Electric Company.  Electric fans, the first GE appliances, were produced in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 1907.  Aircraft engines were added to the company in 1917, when the U.S. government was searching for a company to develop an airplane engine booster.  Plastics were added in 1930.

     To this day, General Electric promotes itself to the American public as an American company.   It proudly chronicles the American story of its history on its web site without mentioning its outsourcing activities, other than stating on one page that it employs over 300,000 people worldwide. GE carefully  cultivates its image to the American consumer, and until recently, most of us, including me, thought that General Electric was an American company.  However, it is one of the largest outsourcers of American jobs to foreign countries.  In the past two years, GE has closed 29 factories in the U.S. and out sourced most of those jobs, mainly to China, which owns about 80% of the U.S . trade deficit.  
    
     Many of these jobs have been necessary to the future, as well as the present well-being of the U.S. economy, such as the  outsourcing of CFL light bulb manufacturing, "green technology" jobs to China. Most recently, GE transferred its "synthetic vision" system to China.  This technology helps pilots to take off and land their planes in adverse weather conditions, and may be worth millions to airlines in the future.  Along with  this system, math, science and technology jobs were outsourced to the People's Republic.

     At the beginning of the year, President Obama appointed Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric Chairman and CEO, to serve as chair of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  I am bemused by the President's selection of Immelt, and still wonder what the President's motive was.  Did he hope that Immelt would "see the light" and start bringing their outsourced jobs back home?  Was Obama following the advice of Sun-tze, the (ironically) Chinese General and military strategist who said, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"   To be sure, GE has cut back on its outsourcing activities - but not enough - and it has brought back some of its IT jobs and created some new jobs at home - but not enough.

     I, for one, think that the appointment of Immelt was just plain wrong.  I don't believe that the CEO of GE should be rewarded for bad, unpatriotic behavior.  In light of GE's recent outsourcing of the synthetic vision system, I think that Obama should fire Immelt, and appoint the CEO, President, or Founder of a company that is trying to remain loyal to his or her country by creating new jobs and maintaining jobs in the United States.  Obama should appoint someone such as Fred Carl, founder of  Viking Range Corporation,  Patrick J. Callaghan, President of Pepperidge Farm, Terry McAuliffe, Chief of GreenTech Automotive, or Tom Chappell, founder of Tom's of Maine.  At least these guys have proven that they are not only patriotic, but they know how to make lemonade out of lemons.
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We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

This week's recommended products:

Ed. Note:  With school starting, I continue my research on school supplies. Here are some recommended brands of "Made in USA" printer paper.  Unfortunately, my "hands-on" research was limited this week due to Mother Nature's "lemons." (I tried my best to make lemonade - I'll add more info on printer paper in the next blog post.)  Remember to check labels. Please feel free to post your own research to this blog!

·         Printworks Multipurpose Paper - Made in USA by Paris Business Products, Westhampton, NJ

            (http://www.myprintworks.com/)
     
      ·         up & up Multipurpose Printer Paper - Made in USA by Target Brands, 
            Inc., Minneapolis, MN
            (http://www.totallytarget.com/2011/07/11/what-are-you-doing-with-your-1-up-up-coupon/)

      ·         Hemmi Papilio Decal Paper - Made in USA by Hemmi Papilio Supplies LLC, Decatur,
            TX
           (www.papilio.com/)

 Blog Sources:

"GE 'all in' on plane deal with China," Howard Schneider, The Washington Post, 08/23/11

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/01/manufacturing-alliance-chief-obama-turning-to-one-of-countrys-leading-outsourcers-in-immelt.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/immelt-appointment-labor-reaction_n_812278.html

http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/07/30/ge-outsourcing-new-%E2%80%98green-jobs%E2%80%99-to-china/

http://www.industryweek.com/articles/ge_expansion_to_bring_250_manufacturing_jobs_to_ellisville_miss-_25291.aspx

http://www.industryweek.com/articles/ge_expansion_to_bring_250_manufacturing_jobs_to_ellisville_miss-_25291.aspx

http://www.tomsofmaine.com/press/releases

http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/bio_callaghan.asp

http://www.terrymcauliffe.com/

http://www.prettyandstupid.com/idiot/176

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/36994.html

Socialism vs. The People's Republic of China

     In his weekly address last Saturday,  President  Obama called for an extension of payroll tax cuts, the creation of jobs to build, improve and maintain the U.S. infrastructure, and job training and placement for American military veterans returning from our most recent two wars as ways to combat unemployment  and stimulate the U.S. economy.   This week, the President also called for adjusting trade agreements to level  the playing field for U.S. businesses.  

     These methods for jump-starting our economy make sense to me,  but I think that the President's plan needs to be even bolder.  I would also like to see federal  incentives for businesses that create and maintain U.S. jobs, the eradication of tax loopholes for corporations who outsource their  jobs or offshore their operations, more federal funding for U.S. entrepreneurs who start or expand their business in the U.S., and the creation of a federal jobs-creating agency and jobs programs for the purpose of building and improving our national infrastructure. 

     Some of these suggestions, particularly the concept of establishing a jobs-creating agency like the WPA and jobs programs like the CCC of President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" would most likely be opposed by conservatives, as they have been in the past.  Hoping to see the federal government shrink (except, of course, in situations involving sex, marriage, family planning, and guns), they believe that it isn't the job of the federal government to create jobs directly; they think that the federal government should only create a "business-friendly" climate by keeping corporate taxes low and doing away with regulation - even if that regulation benefits the health and safety of a community, and limiting the reach of government.  Because federal funding for jobs and federal jobs creation inherently involves expanding the role of federal government, conservatives label this a form of "Socialism."

     Meanwhile, these same conservatives have no problem with most of our goods and products being made in China, even though many of these goods and products are made in places like Zhoucun, People's Republic of China, Shanxi, People's Republic of China, Taiyuan U.S. home textile mall, People's Republic of China, Beijing, People's Republic of China, and Shijiazhuang, Xi’an, and Zhengzhou, all in the People's Republic of China. 

     So, let's see, it's bad for the federal government to put Americans back to work by creating jobs because that's a form of Socialism.  On the other hand, it's okay to keep Americans out of work while buying goods and products made in the People's Republic of China, a Communist country that abuses human rights and befriends countries and groups that are known enemies of the United States because...that's not Socialism?  Perhaps there should be legislation requiring those made in China goods and products to bear the label "Made in the People's Republic of China."  Maybe that would wake up a few people.
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We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

Ed. Note: Last week, I recommended Made in USA notebooks and notebook paper. A few others I found:

·         Office Depot notebook paper - Made in USA by ???

·         Roselle notebook paper - Made in USA by Roselle Paper Co., Roselle, NJ

·         Top Flight 81/2 x 11 spiral notebooks (only) - Made in USA by Top Flight, Chattanooga, TN

·         Smart Living notebook paper (only) - Made in USA by American Sales Co., Lancaster, NY

With school starting, I continue my research on school supplies. Here are some recommended "Made in USA" pens, pencils, and markers (pretty scarce), and some not recommended, outsourced pens and pencils made by so-called "American" companies.  Remember to check labels. Please feel free to post your own research to this blog!

·         Pilot Easy Touch retractable pens (only) - Made in USA by Pilot Corp. of America, Jacksonville, FL

(www.pilotpen.us)

·         USA Gold "The Write Dudes" wood case pencils (only) - Made in USA by USA Gold (Mega Brands), Lewisburg, TN

(www.megabrands.com)

·         General's wood case pencils - Made in USA by General Pencil Co., Jersey City, NJ

(http://www.generalpencil.com/index.html)

NOT Recommended (made elsewhere):

·         Smart Living

      ·         Bic
      ·         Paper Mate
      ·         Pilot Rolling Ball
      ·         Uniball
      ·         Locker Culture
      ·         Foray
      ·         Sharpie
      ·         Crayola
      ·         Scholastic
      ·         Ticonderoga
      ·         Whirly Bug
      ·         Expo
      ·         Rose Art
      ·         Essentials
      ·         Dixon
      ·         up & up
      ·         The Write Dudes ballpoint pens

Blog Sources:

http://www.chinese-manufacturers.org/

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcYq6vcMsE7D8sUP_-XvQA-TmCbg?docId=CNG.421a0f4006328079f8ee28fe1438ee9e.171

"Going to the heart of 'Texas Miracle'," Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post, 08/21/11

What's More Important: Patriotism Or Greed?

     I was going to write about a different subject this week,  but then I watched the segment on "60 Minutes" about U.S. corporations who are renouncing their U.S. citizenship.  These corporations  are moving their headquarters "offshore," i.e., to a foreign country, in order to avoid paying corporate taxes to the U.S.,   and in favor of paying lower corporate taxes to their new country.   In some cases, the offshore "headquarters" is nothing more than an address with a post office box.  In other cases, it may be a receptionist and a conference room;  still in others, it may be hundreds of thousands of employees. 

    At one time, the unpatriotic act of renouncing one's citizenship would have been unthinkable to most  self-respecting American businessmen, regardless of the corporate tax rate.  But not now.  American leaders  - business leaders, and even some elected leaders- have exchanged the accountable attitude of  "the buck stops here" for an attitude of no accountability, an attitude of "show me the money."

     As a middle class, taxpaying American, I find this new attitude disgustingly greedy.  These corporations, who got their start in the United States, and who make millions, even billions, of dollars from the United States and U.S. consumers, are whining about paying a tax rate of 35%, while most of us middle class Americans are taxed on our less than six-figure incomes at a rate of about 28%. 

     The CEOs of these corporations justify their unpatriotic actions by saying they must satisfy their shareholders.  But as we all know, moving offshore makes little difference to the value of the few shares in the 401Ks and IRAs of most middle class investors; the real beneficiaries are those stockholders who own thousands of corporate shares - namely the CEOs themselves, as well as their corporate directors.

    American jobs are being held hostage by greed.  Some corporate  and elected leaders want to blame our government.  But it's really not our government.  Our government needs tax revenue to pay for our transportation, our parks, our safety and security.  The very things that create a climate in which business, as well as our families, can grow and prosper. corporate  and elected leaders want to blame the labor unions.   But it's really not the unions.  Labor unions simply try to bargain for better wages and benefits for working class employees.   

      Should the corporate tax rate be lowered?  I don't believe that it should be.  Not while greed is holding American jobs hostage, and not while greed is more important than patriotism to many of our U.S. corporations.   If anything, those American businesses who have opted to keep their U.S. citizenship, their headquarters, and their jobs in the U.S. are the ones who deserve financial rewards.  Let's  give those companies financial and/or tax incentives for their loyalty and patriotism, and let's give them financial rewards for creating more U.S. jobs  here.  And finally, let's roll back the tax cuts we've been giving to the wealthiest Americans.  It's time they pay their fair share. 

     Let us know what you think by posting to this blog, and more importantly, let your elected leaders know what you think by calling, emailing, and writing them.

******************

 We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

With school starting, many of us are shopping for school supplies. Here are some recommended "Made in USA" spiral notebooks, composition books, and notebook paper, and some not recommended, outsourced paper made by so-called "American" companies. Please feel free to post your own research to this blog!

This week's recommended products:
      ·         up&up spiral notebooks - Made in USA by Target Brands, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
             (www.target.com)

·         Basic spiral notebooks, Norcom composition books, Basic notebook paper,  

      Norcom notebook paper - Made in USA by Norcom, Inc., Griffin, GA

            (www.norcominc.com)

 

NOT recommended (made elsewhere):

      ·         Horizon Group USA spiral notebooks
      ·         Tops spiral notebooks
      ·         Innovative Designs spiral notebooks
      ·         Sky High spiral notebooks
      ·         Target composition books
  

Blog Source: 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/14/60minutes/main20091720.shtml?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

FAA - A Long, Long Way To Run

      Oscar Hammerstein II was not referring to the FAA, but to a note on the musical scale in his lyrics for the Sound of Music  song, "Do-Ra-Mi,"  but he might as well have been talking about the FAA.  After the antics of Congress this past week, the FAA does have a "long, long way to run." 

     After finally coming up with a weak debt ceiling deal, Congress adjourned for a five-week summer recess without extending funding for the FAA, causing the furlough of 4,000 FAA employees, increasing potential safety issues, impacting approximately 70,000 additional contract jobs and their associated suppliers and other local businesses, and resulting in the loss of about 1 billion dollars to the federal government in uncollected airline taxes.    

     Why?  Because some of them, namely conservative Republicans, are more concerned about their own agenda:  namely, destroying unions, starting with the unions for public employees, and doing away with federal subsidies to airlines for maintaining service to and from certain regional airports in the Essential Air Service (EAS) program  - targeted airports located primarily in areas represented by Democrats.   In other words, funding for the FAA, just like raising the debt ceiling, has been politicized with no concern for consequences to our country. All this caused by people who are supposedly looking out for the USA, and who say they're concerned about saving and creating U.S. jobs and reducing the federal deficit.

     Subsequently, the President and Congressional leaders were able to get a quick, basic agreement signed to temporarily extend funding for the FAA until Congress reconvenes, meaning we'll have to relive this issue, plus more cost-cutting "negotiations" in the very near future.

     What can citizens like you and me do?  Two big things:  (1) Educate ourselves about candidates for public office - even those who are running for local office (local elections not only impact us locally, but also launch political careers) -  what they say and do, what they believe or don't believe, and who contributes to their campaigns, and vote in every election for the candidates who we believe are the most motivated by a desire to serve, have good ideas and ideals, are qualified to do the job, and will get positive results, and (2) support American businesses who create and maintain jobs in the USA by using the services and buying the goods and products of those businesses and promoting those businesses to your family and friends.  In these two ways, we as individuals can effect change for the good of our country. 
***********
We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

Ed. Note:  Last week, I recommended Made in USA cereal bars.  Two that I omitted:

·         Annie's Organic Granola Bars - Product of USA by Annie's, Berkeley, CA

            (http://www.annies.com)
      ·         Nature's Path Granola Bars - Product of USA by Nature's Path Foods, Blaine, WA
            ( http://www.naturespath.com/)

Like to eat a "power" bar before or after your run, walk, or workout?  Here are some recommended "Made in USA" power/nutrition bars, and some not recommended, outsourced ones made by so-called "American" companies. Please feel free to post your own research to this blog!

This week's recommended products:

·         Eating Right Nutrition Bar - Product of USA by Lucerne Foods, Inc.,

      Pleasanton, CA

            ( http://www.lucernefoods.com/)
 
      ·         Kind and Kind Plus Fruit and Nut Bars - Product of Kind Healthy Snacks,
            New York, NY
           (http://www.kindsnacks.com/)

NOT Recommended (made elsewhere):\

 

·         Clif

      ·         Luna
      ·         Power
      ·         Pure Protein
      ·         Balance
      ·         Lara

Blog Sources:

http://businessjournalism.org/2011/08/04/aviation-woes-the-ripple-effects-of-the-faa-shutdown/

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/04/138968210/unionizing-flight-subsidies-central-to-faa-standoff

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/07/19/delta.severed.cities/

http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/x-50%20role_files/essentialairservice.htm

http://www.usaspending.gov/search?query=&searchtype=&formFields=eyJQU0NDYXRlZ29yeUNvZGUiOlsiWSJdfQ==

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-08-03/partial-faa-shutdown

http://www.events-in-music.com/

Elegy #1 For Congress

Congress used to be a place                                     
where people who cared
came to serve their country.

Now, it's a place full of

politicians, posers and
players.

Not everyone,
to be sure,
but the majority.

Now, it's a place where

red and blue
mean more than red, white, and blue.

Mean more than community, unity,

national pride,
the  greater good.

How will the American Dream survive
when it's forever a dream
and never a reality?

When government is no longer

by the People and
for the People?

Congress used to be a place                                     
where people who cared
came to serve their country.

~M.B.

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We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

Here are some recommended "Made in USA" cereal/granola bars, and some not recommended, outsourced cereal bars made by so-called "American" companies.  Please feel free to post your own research to this blog!

This week's recommended products:

·         Eating Right Oats & Peanut Butter Bars - Product of USA by Lucerne Foods, Pleasanton, CA

·         Safeway Variety Pack Chewy Granola Bars, Safeway Chewy Pretzel Bars -  Product of USA by Lucerne Foods, Pleasanton, CA

      ( http://www.lucernefoods.com/)

·         Eviro Kidz Bars - Product of USA by Nature's Path Foods, Blaine, WA

      ( http://www.naturespath.com/)

NOT Recommended (made elsewhere):

      ·         Eating Right Fruit & Grain Bars
      ·         Fiber One, Nature Valley, Golden Grahams, Chex Mix  (General Mills)
      ·         Health Vallley
      ·         Nutri-Grain, Special K, Fiber Plus, Rice Krispies, Cinnabon (Kellogg)
      ·         Kudos (Mars)
      ·         Safeway Kitchens
      ·         TLC (Kashi)
      ·         Quaker
      ·         Giant Foods
      ·         Planters, Snack Well's (Kraft)

While Republicans Take Us On A Roller Coaster Ride...What's Happening to Jobs?

      Is anyone as sick of debt ceiling "negotiations" as I am?  I have never been a big fan of roller coaster rides, and I'm definitely way ready for this ride to be over.  One minute up, next minute down;  the President saying  "compromise,"  Republicans who worship at the altar of Grover Norquist  saying "no" to everything they don't agree with, and coming up with a "new plan" which is their same old plan reworded. 

     Should Medicare and Medicaid benefits aka entitlement programs be cut?  No.  It's not only immoral to hurt the elderly, sick, disabled, and poor of our country, it doesn't make good business sense.  Reduce Medicare and Medicaid benefits, and more of our elderly, sick, disabled and poor will end up living on the streets and seeking medical help in hospital emergency rooms.  This will actually end up causing more debt, not less.

     Should Social Security benefits be cut?  Why?  We Americans pay into Social Security all of our working lives.  President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton both raided the Social Security trust fund. The Bush administration looted the Social Security trust fund to pay for wars and tax cuts for the rich.  These raids are the only reason that Social Security is now out of money and a cause of debt.  The money that was taken should be returned  and a lock should be put on the Social Security trust fund, including surpluses, so that it can't be raided again.

     Should education programs be cut?  Are you kidding?  Lawmakers are already whining that Americans need to be better educated and trained for a more competitive world.  Cutting funding for education would be short-sighted.  An undereducated, undertrained population would be less likely to find jobs, especially good quality, good paying jobs, and would put an increased burden on society and social services, while paying less in taxes.

      Raise the debt ceiling.  Obviously, we should not default on our debt, causing our credit rating to drop, our money to be worth less, our interest rates to climb, our stock market to fall,  and our real estate market to plunge deeper than it already is.  To cut our expenditures and increase our revenue,  roll back tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans; take the cap off Social Security (FICA) taxes and make everyone pay into social security on their entire income, not just on the first $100K; remove tax loopholes for hedge fund managers and for corporations that offshore their operations and/or outsource jobs; stop subsidizing big oil companies, and fix inefficiencies in government spending, including overcharges by Medicare and Medicaid vendors.  This is the "Minnie Bee Plan" for reducing our debt.

      Raise the debt ceiling and move on.  While Congress and the President are spending time and energy on this roller coaster ride, unemployment is continuing to rise, and new jobs are not being created.  Patriotic American businesses of all sizes who are keeping jobs at home - companies like Tom's of Maine, Pepperidge Farm,  Viking Range,  Bayside Apparel, and Vita Fusion -  deserve to receive tax incentives; greedy, unpatriotic  "American" companies who outsource jobs to exploit cheap foreign labor should pay their fair share.

************************* 

We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

Representative of the outsourcing by "American" companies that is plaguing the American economy is the simple cracker.  Here are some recommended "Made in USA" crackers, and some not recommended, outsourced crackers made by so-called "American" companies.

This week's recommended products:

        ·         Pepperidge Farm (all crackers and crisps) - Made in USA by Pepperidge Farms,
              Inc., Norwalk, CT
              (www.pepperidgefarm.com)

·         Westminster Crackers - Made in USA by Westminster Cracker Co., Rutland, VT  (http://www.ralcorpjobs.com)

·         Ry-Krisp Crackers - Made in USA by Bremner Food Group, Princeton, KY (http://www.ralcorpjobs.com)

·         Breton crackers (all except Vinta and Breton Minis) - Made in USA by Dare Foods USA, Spartanburg, SC

             (http://usa.darefoods.com)

NOT Recommended (made elsewhere):

      ·         Sunshine
      ·         Keebler
      ·         Nabisco (Kraft Foods)
      ·         Kashi
      ·         Wegmans
      ·         Lance
      ·         Red Oval Farms (Kraft Foods)

Blog Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20082697-503544.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june11/debtceiling_05-16.html

http://www.fedsmith.com/article/2328/no-money-social-security-trust-fund.html

http://www.atr.org/about-grover

Job Standards for Members of Congress - Why Not?

     In the past few years, it's become a popular trend to blame teachers for student performance.   This has led to the establishment of more precise standards for teachers .   Last year, teachers and school administrators in Rhode Island were fired due to underperforming students.   A few days ago, teachers in Washington, DC, were fired because they were judged to not meet performance standards, and in many cases, their students did not do well on standardized tests.

     To be sure, an effective teacher plays an important role in the success of a student.  That being said, there are also factors a teacher must deal with in educating a child that are beyond the  teacher's control - things like a family's economic situation,  whether the child is eating nutritious food, whether the child is getting enough sleep,  how many or few adults are raising the child, how involved the parents/guardians are in the child's education, the parents'/guardians' own educational levels, whether English is spoken in the child's home... and so on and so on.  Considering these out-of-school factors, it's easy to conclude that it's unfair to put all or even most of the  blame for student performance on teachers.
    
     On the other hand, in order to do an effective job of working for the success of constituents and the country as a whole, a member of Congress must deal with very few factors that are beyond his or her control - what comes to mind are sudden acts of nature, the surprise hostile actions of foreign nations, and the philosophies and principles of the other members of Congress he/she must work with.  As to the last factor, in order to perform, a member of Congress, whether he or she is a member of the House or the Senate, must put politics and rhetoric aside, and make an honest effort to work with others, including negotiating and compromising at times.

     Since taking office in January of 2010, the present members of Congress have delivered an ineffective performance.  They have done nothing to help the U.S. economy; they have done nothing to create U.S. jobs; they have done nothing to reduce spending or the deficit, and they have brought the U.S. to the brink of default.  Why?  Primarily because conservative lawmakers have refused to put aside politics and rhetoric; they have refused to work with Democrats or the President; they have refused to negotiate or compromise.  (Ed. Note: "negotiate" means to bargain, as in reaching an agreement between parties settling what each shall give and take or perform and receive in a transaction; "compromise" means an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.)  These lawmakers have continued to insist that it's either their way or no way.  
    
     This past week, friends sent me an email listing proposed measures for reforming Congress.  I personally think that in addition to these measures,  Congressional reform should also include minimum job performance standards.  Therefore, I have taken the liberty to add a couple of my own congressional job performance standards (marked with an asterisk *)  to the list.  Read the "Congressional Reform Act of 2011" and let me know what you think.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1.  Term Limits

     A maximum of 12 years total may be served in the House or the Senate.

 2.  No Tenure / No Pension
     A member of Congress collects a salary while in office and receives no pay
     when he/she is out of office.

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security
     All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social
     Security system immediately.   All future Congressional retirement
     funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates
     with the American people. Social Security funds may not be used for
     any other purpose.

4.  Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5.  Congress no longer voted themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay
     increases according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or by 3% per year,
     whichever is lower.

6.  Congress loses their current health care system, and participates in the
     same health care system as the American people.

7.  Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
     people.

8.  All contracts with past and present members of Congress are void effective
     1/1/12.  The American people did not make these contracts with members
      of Congress.  Members of Congress made these contracts for themselves.
      Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers  
      envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go
      home and go back to work or, if age allows, retire on Social Security.

 *9.  Each member of Congress, during the course of his/her  first term in office,
       will be able to show proof that they made at least one contribution to
       legislation designed to improve the quality of life (e.g., education,
       transportation,  safety, health, wealth) of all of the residents of their district.

 *10.  Each member of Congress, during no later than his/her second term in
         office, will co-sponsor  with a member of Congress from a different political
         party, legislation designed to improve the quality of life all Americans.
 **********************************

We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA goods and products.

This week's recommended product:
·       Bayside apparel - Made in USA and union-made by Bayside USA, Anaheim, CA
    (http://ethixmerch.com/supplier/bayside-usa-unionmade)

Blog Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/24/rhode-island-teachers-fir_n_475234.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/206-low-performing-dc-teachers-fired/2011/07/15/gIQANEj5GI_story.html

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/06/randi-weingarten-michelle-rhee_n_792841.html