Means, Mastery, Leadership

The first world countries have been living beyond their means since the inception of credit and especially since leaving the gold standard. The central banks are complicit in the demise of the current economic system because the elite are incapable of managing the masses or the economic complexities. The middle class is where the innovators and critical mass exists to create wealth but also to consume it. The poor and needy will always exist to make men feel guilty about their pursuits of wealth and power. To assuage their conscience the well-to-do's are faced with philanthropy and the wanna-be's are conflicted by greed and need. Well meaning leaders and unscrupulous politicians plan and contrive for both means of power and taxation to take from the unsuspecting successful wanna-be's and give to the perpetual welfare class on the basis of fairness and compassion.

The solution is self-mastery. Living within one's means does not necessarily commit a person to poverty but does require prudence. Magnifying one's calling is not only for the socially conscious but for the socially able.  Whatever we are capable of doing, whether it is consuming only that which sustains us or producing that which sustains many we as individuals, resident's of the world should have an obligation to exercise that talent on the behalf of others.

Not everyone is imbued with the knowledge or skills to understand or affect the outcomes of life. Those that can, need to educate those that can't.  Those that can't, need to pay attention. A lack of leadership is responsible for the current failure of our fiscal and social order. A dearth of leadership in partnership with the arrogance of the unwise is the bane of this life.

Are we doomed to failure, condemned to a conflict and strife, confined by mediocracy, inspired to achievement, or destined to fulfillment?  Some, each, and all.

Assuming

Assuming that there is a purpose, to this existence, what serves evil.  I understand and am a beneficiary of good. I don't understand and hope not to become a victim of evil. The bible tries to justify it by extolling the vice of evil at serving to define and quantify good. Science ignores that it exists because it is subjective. Politicians revel in it because it empowers and animates them. The general population puts up with it because it is prevalent and ubiquitous. The unfortunate, unwary, and purveyors of evil are subject to it.

If evil were not to exist would this existence be enriched or impoverished? It is hard to imagine how the absence of evil would adversely affect our lives as much as the existence of it does.  Recognizing the difference between things breaking down, actions going wrong and evil choices I don't see the purpose of it.  Even if the bible is correct at stating that we are served by opposition in all things my faithfulness is not necessarily dictated by the degree of evil in my life.  In fact there is proportionality to the chance of my falling victim to evil by its prevalence  persistence, and prominence.

I suppose that as our progenitors have learned and we are taught, greatness or degree of achievement does not come without effort and is directly proportional to challenge and resistance. If that is true and is seems that it is, then evil is a prerequisite and I can only wonder to what degree of accomplishment this life offers while evils only plays a distraction for the most part. Am I prepared for or do I even want to venture a guess at the circumstances and situations accompanying an existence where the outcome is even greater, the risks are higher and the opposition is appropriate and adequate to the task?

If we are more than an accident of nature, a cosmic coincidence, or juxtaposition of circumstances than evil does serve a purpose, perhaps an important one.

Divestiture

There is nothing wrong with congress and big government that divestiture wouldn't solve.  Corruption, meddlesome litigation, constituency irrelevancy, cronyism, pork barrel legislation, over-spending, inequitable taxation, generic regulation, inappropriate mandates, and childish behavior.

The same things happen at the state level but the impacts are less onerous to the collective population of the U.S.. If we were to also divest the state governments of locally pertinent governance America could be transformed back into the United States.   The challenge is to figure out how to deal with inequitable resources, inadequate response, and inappropriate behavior which does exist and will occur but can be handled because the incidents are both limited in scope and marginal in nature.

Because of technology all central banks can be eliminated and the gold standard must be returned to.