What to do about those economy fears

By |

© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Listening this week to the media fear-mongering about the economy I thought of the words of Gertrude Stein: “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Some people are very afraid of a bad collapse of our economy, while others are merely worried. So many assumptions are wrong that I do not know where to start other than to agree with President Franklin Roosevelt, who said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is especially true today, when we have such prosperity amid fears. Throughout most of my adult life there has always been some media flack saying that we are all going to the poorhouse. The truth is that some Americans are getting wealthier while others are falling farther behind. This is because some people do the right things while others do not. Continue Reading

Educational failure to thrive

By |

© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Winston Churchill noted that there is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction. That is like a German proverb: To change and to change for the better are two different things. Many politicians are advocating changing the public schools. Will it be for the better? Some people say since there are students not thriving, school needs to become less enjoyable and much harder. Continue Reading

The constitutional right of non-association

By |

© 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. My friend Bob was at a buffet. After his sixth trip, the owner came over and said, “This is an all-you-can-eat buffet and Bob, that is all you can eat.” Bob laughed, but there is a constitutional issue at stake that came out last week when a buffet owner back east banned three regulars because they ate too much. Lots of people immediately asked, can they do that? Indeed, do business owner have the right to refuse service to anyone? Some say when a door is open to the public for commercial exchange it is open to everyone. Continue Reading

Ending poverty in our lifetime

By |

© 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “A peasant must stand on a hillside with his mouth open for a very long time before a roasted duck flies in.” – Chinese proverb The new minimum wage law in New Mexico took effect this week, boosting the wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour. In effect, the government urinated in the soup so poor people could have more soup. The problem with raising the minimum wage is that it puts the productivity-to-wage continuum out of balance. Companies must do something to get it back in balance. Typically, they shed the least-productive members of their staff, the minimum-wage workers. Continue Reading

Same news, different day, different people

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Another year has gone by – rather, sped by. Years ago I wondered what the world would be like in 1984 with the Orwellian predicted government control. And in the 1970s I pondered the year 2001 with our intended space exploration. Now we look back and marvel at how far off we were with our predictions. I will not predict what next year will bring. Continue Reading

Give it your best shot defending yourself

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.” – Old West saying The very people in Congress who pass laws to keep us from using guns to protect ourselves are themselves well protected by guns while in Congress. If attacked, they immediately have a gun for defense. But many of them do not want you to have a gun for your defense. Are we safer if only the police and criminals have guns, or should citizens have guns? Take the August 2005 case of 46 year-old Joyce Cordova in Albuquerque. Continue Reading

America set to go completely tipless

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. The next social engineering change from your equal opportunity government is that discretionary tipping in America must be stopped. According to equal rights proponents it fosters discrimination. The tipper decides whether or not to tip, often based upon bigotry. These proponents want the tip embedded in the cost of the meal so that it is not discretionary and no one can further racism by not tipping. However, in no way are they trying to reduce money to servers. Continue Reading

Spare us the aggravation

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. City traffic lights have the potential to really ease driving hassles for us, or they can be a major pain in the keister. Well, it is not the traffic lights themselves, since they only act as they are programmed by the core values of their controlling organization. Said differently, traffic lights can be programmed to reduce our aggravation or they can cause unnecessary frustration. What if traffic lights were run by a business? Do you think you would go a block, get a red light, go another block and get another red light? Continue Reading

The real meaning of our Thanksgiving

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. We are confronted with controversy about Thanksgiving. Growing up in the 1950s I thought Thanksgiving was a simple celebration of our gratitude. And it was celebrated that way in my house. But there are people among us who wish to change the true meaning of Thanksgiving into something political and sinister. I am tired of this politically correct crap. Continue Reading

The do-more-to-get-more society

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Some Americans believe that if you do more, you should get more. Likewise, if you do less, you should get less. Others do not embrace this notion. They are swayed by our society’s relatively new socialist tendencies toward a belief that a citizen should get what someone else decides that person needs. This is not a theoretical issue for me; the first is the way I live. Continue Reading

Vote for anyone other than me

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. For the life of me I do not understand how people can stand to run for local elective office and then, even more amazingly, serve. Besides campaigning being such hard and often lonely and thankless work, the campaigning and serving presents an opportunity to be criticized in ways not otherwise available to local citizens since they were in junior high school. Anonymously in the local paper the office holders and candidates are slurred without regard to truth and without the ability to confront their accusers. Even the most thick-skinned citizens have to be bothered by the liberties anonymously taken with their good name. More troubling to me is that, if candidates win, there are the long, tedious meetings that are important but long and tedious. Continue Reading

A better way to change bad driving

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Some say the hardest job is being a funeral director. It is hard to look glum at an expensive funeral while calling the wife on a cell phone and saying, “Go ahead and buy that new Lexus.” Likewise, city councilors all over our nation have a hard time looking glum at the millions of dollars of new revenue coming in from red light cameras. They should be glum because their solution to the problem of red light runners does not work. In fact, all it does is invest the city council in being happy when people break the law. If the penalty did work, the revenues would dwindle and at some point the revenues would not pay for the program. Continue Reading

A government that lives to control people

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.” – Thomas Reed, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives At election time we see the real face of our government. Hidden in bumper stickers, slick advertisements and candidate signs is the underbelly of the tyranny beast. The majority of those running for office think their job is to compel citizens to do things they normally would not. Candidates do not say out loud, “If elected I will make you citizens do things you do not want to do.” That is just what happens. Louisiana Sen. Russell Long had a saying, “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that other man behind the tree.” How far would Long have gone if he had run on the promise to raise taxes for the very voters who put him in office? Continue Reading

Putting the ‘quick’ in response time

By |

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. It is election season, and Election Day in Las Cruces is Nov. 6. I was reminded of this fact when a local candidate saw me shopping and, unbidden, gave me his campaign talk, including arm waving and patriotic songs. I listened politely and then said that arresting local development, spending beaucoup money for downtown revitalization and forced payment of curbside recycling were not core issues with me. If the current candidates for mayor and city council want my vote and the votes of people who feel as I do, they have to concentrate on core issues. Continue Reading