Friday, November 2, 2012

Keynesian Economics Explained

Keynesian Economics explained:
 
An Englishman wonders into an impoverished French town and stops at a local hotel to get a room for the night. He hands the owner a 100 pound note, takes his key and heads up the stairs to his room. The hotel owner immediately rushes out the door to visit the butcher saying, "I have debts to pay."
 
"Butcher" he says, "here is the 100 pounds I owe you for the meat you delivered last week. This covers my debt in full."
 
The thankful butcher sprints out the door and over the bakers shop saying, "I have debts to pay."
 
"Baker" he says, "Here is the 100 pounds I owe you for the bread you delivered last week. This covers my debt in full."
 
The grateful baker slips out the back door and down the alley where he hands the prostitute the 100 pound note. "Here is the 100 pounds I owe you for services on credit. This covers my debt to you in full."
 
While the baker heads back to his shop, the prostitute hurries down the street to the hotel where she finds the owner behind the counter.

"Mr. Hotel Owner", she says. "Thank you for letting me have that room on credit. Here is the 100 pounds I owe you. This pays my debt in full."
 
As she walks out, the Englishman comes down the stairs and approaches the hotel owner. "Sir", he says, "the room really isn't up to my usual standards. I'd like my money back." So the hotel owner hands the Englishman the 100 pound note who then leaves the hotel.
 
Everyone is suddenly debt free. Something is going on here but no one is really sure what happened. It seemed to work on some level but something weird is going on.
 
(I'd love to give someone credit but I can't remember where I first heard this outstanding explaination - Todd)
 
"By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens."
~John Maynard Keynes

"Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose."
~John Maynard Keynes
 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

What It Means To Be An American

Nobody Asked Me What It Means To Be An American - but...

I can't remember the last time I posted anything here.  It's something I want to do on a regular basis but just don't seem to find the time.  It's not that I necessarily have anything profound to say, but rather sometime you just have to let it out.  Like many, I've turned to Twitter and Facebook to let my thoughts dribble out a little at a time.

This evening, while searching my archieves for something else I ran across my outline for my 1999 public speaking final - a five minutes speech.  Some might suggest I was a litttle harsh on academia.  Dr. Gates, our professor, asked me stay back so she could let me know she wasn't tenured.  I did get the "A" I was looking for.  ;)


What It Means To Be An American

Introduction

a. Attention Getter: "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, and sweat, and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
-- Theodore Roosevelt 1910

b. Reason to listen: I recently saw a bumper sticker that read something like this: Freedom has a different flavor for those who have served to protect than for the protected. But, James Madison, one of the framers of the Constitution of the United States who said, "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." For this reason I hope, especially those of you who have not had the opportunity to serve in the armed forces, will follow along with me for the next few minutes.

c. Credibility: On March 5, 1976 I took the Oath of Enlistment which I repeated on five subsequent occasions during my navy career. The oath goes like this: I Todd Jonathan Tolson do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to regulations, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

During the course of the nearly 23 years that followed I’ve had the opportunity to visit many modern as well as third world nations. I've seen first hand how others live who do not share the ideological values that have transformed this great nation from a group of pilgrims in search or religious freedom; who struggled just to stay alive in a new country to what is today the world's only super power.

d. Preview of Main Points: It seems you can't have a discussion on what it means to be an American without the word freedom coming up. I intend to address specifically that freedom comes with a price and that freedom comes with responsibility.

Body

a. Our Founding Fathers recognized that Freedom comes with a price.

1. Thomas Paine said in 1776, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated." http://www.constitutional.net/qff.html

2. The greatest price is that of lives lost in the pursuit of the idea that freedom is worth any price.

3. According to the Statistical Summary of America's Major Wars, nearly 805,000 American lives have been lost in combat from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War at a cost of over 2.7 trillion dollars.

b. Along with Freedom comes responsibility.

1. A responsible education system should teach on the basis of values and principles and in the context of the framers of the constitution.

a. Sadly, many of our institutions of higher learning don’t even teach much less support the ideals and values that are the basis of the freedoms we have and are slowly losing today.

b. As a student here at the Socialist Republic of Grossmont I have learned in Humanities from Mr. Wood that there is no God and that everything that parents teach is wrong.

c. In Sociology I learned from Mr. Cardona that equal opportunity is not as important as equal outcome (although our grades were not distributed equally).

2. Only through responsible educational practices that are value based how to think rather than merely reflecting their teacher’s minds.

a. According to the American Heritage Library, Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress, later a congressman from NJ stated "Good government generally begins in the family, and if the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow." http://www.constitutional.net/qff.html


b. John Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, one of three men most responsible for our Constitution said, "Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." http://www.constitutional.net/qff.html

c. And, it was John Adams who stated, "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have...a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers."

Conclusion

a. Review of Main Points: It’s unfortunate that time is so limited to only scratch the surface on what being an American means to me. While many Americans paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we claim today there is still a price to be paid daily in the exercise of those freedoms and the responsibilities that come with them.

b. Tie back to the Attention Getter: Theodore Roosevelt rightly discounted the role of the critic when compared to the person, man or woman who is in pursuit of a dream. I’m aghast at the bunk taught by those in academia who have never had the intestinal fortitude to step outside the safety chains and do something productive. Our education system and students would be much better off learning from the experiences of those in the arena then the theories espoused from the safety of tenure. I would encourage you to study the personal prices paid by the men who framed our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

c. Conclude with a powerful “lessons learned” story??: Much has been said on the subject of the American flag as the symbol of this great nation vs. freedom of speech. I will conclude with with a view from the flags perspective:



"OLDE GLORY"

I am the Flag of the United States of America. My name is OLDE GLORY.

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings I stand watch in America's Halls of Justice.

I fly majestically over Great Institutions of Learning.

I stand guard with the Greatest Military power in the World.

LOOK UP! See ME!!!

I stand for Peace, Honor, Truth and Justice. I stand for Freedom!!

I am confident, I am arrogant, I am proud. When I am flown with my fellow banners, my head is held a little higher - my colors are a little truer.

I BOW TO NO ONE!
I am recognized all over the world.

I am saluted - I am respected - I am revered - I am loved - I am feared!!

For more than 200 years, I have fought in every battle of every war;
Gettysburg, Shiloh, Appomattox, San Juan Hill, The Trenches of France, the Argenne Forest, Anzio, Rome, the beaches of Normandy the jungles of Guam, Okinawa, Tarawa, Korea, Vietnam and in the heat of the Persian Gulf and a score of other places long forgotten by all, but those who were there with me.

I was there.

I led my Sailors, Soldiers, Arimen and Marines into battle.

I followed them, I watch over them, they Love Me.

I was on a small hill on Iwo Jima.

I was dirty, battle torn and tired but my Sailors and Marines Cheered Me!!!!

I WAS PROUD!

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries that I have helped to set Free.

It does not Hurt for I am invincibile.

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of my own country and when it is done by those whom with I have served in battle. It HURTS!!!

But I shall Overcome for I am strong!!

I have slipped the surely bounds of earth and, from my vantage point on the moon, I stand watch over the New Frontiers of Space.

I have been the silent witness to all of America's finest hours.

But my finest hour comes when I am torn into strips, to be used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the field of battle.

Or, when I fly half mast to Honor my Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and Marines and when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving mother - at the graveside of her fallen son or daughter.

I am proud! My Name is "Olde Glory." Long may I wave.

Dear God, long may I wave.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Some Think Maxine Should Run For President.


Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida ...



Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems It's a win-win situation.

+ Dig a moat the length of the borders.
+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.
+ Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the borders.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today ? Yes!

Think about these:
1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

C O W S
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.


T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq.......why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.


T H E 10 C O M M A N D M E N T S
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians...It creates a hostile work environment.


Nobody Asked Me, But...

Monday, September 6, 2010

What I Don't Believe

Nobody Asked Me but...

I want to apologize in advance as this post may be somewhat disjointed. I'm not a writer by trade or training. What I am is a poor kid who grew up fast, left home early, but turned out well by most standards. After a twenty-two year military career I went to school on the GI Bill and while in school started a business which supports my family and charitable causes in which my wife, Cheryl, and I believe. I am passionate about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness within a framework of moral and ethical beliefs.

This has been a crazy year - much of it discouraging (bottom line down 44% to date). It's also been a year of study and reflection (actually the last couple of years). A short time ago I tweeted (@ttolson) and posted the following to FaceBook:

"It is said that you need to know what you believe and why. I'd like to suggest it's equally important to know what you don't believe too."

I feel a need to expand on that thought but need to first define terms as so many words and phrases have been hijacked both politically and theologically over time. At this point, for the sake of space, you'll have to do your own homework. I will, however, provide some links.


Define:
Social: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social
Fairness: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fairness
Equal: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/equal
Gospel: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gospel
Justice: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/justice
Opportunity: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opportunity
Outcome: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/outcome

Now I don't expect to get any pushback on single word definitions from anyone by using a common resource site like http://dictionary.com. These are all common vocabulary words. The weirdness comes when people start combining words and phrases that evoke an emotion without conveying the underlying meanings to those phrases.

Really, on the surface, who can't emotionally get behind:
Fairness
Social Justice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice
Equal Opportunity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_of_opportunity

What about:
Social Gospel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Gospel
Equal Outcome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_of_outcome

But what do these terms really mean? By what means are we to achieve them? If these are worthy goals would God care how we get there? Or, do the ends justify the means? Of course, one might ask the question - "What Would Jesus Do?" A phrase coined by Charles Sheldon who was committed to "Christian Socialism." Having said that, I believe WWJD is a valid question. I do NOT believe, however, that I would necessarily come up with the same answers Mr. Sheldon would with his bent toward socialism.

I could probably spend weeks trying to put this together but I'm not trying to do anything more than began to expose my thoughts to the light of day. I'm certain to revisit this subject as I want to express some thoughts on Douglas Hyde since some in theological circles seem to hold this Communist turned Catholic seeking social justice who died agnostic so highly as a Christian leader.

So, going back to my original thought that it is important to "know what you don't believe too."

I Don't Believe, in fact I REJECT:

Social Justice
Social Gospel
Equal Outcomes (as opposed to Equal Opportunity)

God's justice is not the result of man made institutions or collective conscience. It available to ALL regardless of station in life or income as the result of Him reaching out to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. No where is my Bible do I find support for institutional theft as a means to supporting the poor, widows or orphans. My Bible speaks to me in the area of income that it's ALL His and I'm to give back 10% to further His work. I find opportunities for offerings beyond tithe for special needs. I find that He recognizes personal property rights and expects us to make good investments. I find in His creation three rules:

1. The Law of Resiprocity - you reap what you sow
2. The Law of Increasing Returns - you reap more than you sow
3. The Law of Delayed Gratification - you reap after you sow

Nobody asked me, but I don't find those in Social Justice, the Social Gospel or the pursuit of equal outcomes. Show me I'm wrong!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Monday, December 21, 2009

Getting Ready To Close Out The Year

Nobody asked me but...

I haven't posted anything here since late September. Not that I havent' had anything to say - because nothing could be further from the truth. I've even started several different post but alas, no completions. So, I guess I'll just throw a little mud on the wall.

"It's Complicated?"

I guess I'm overly simple. In my little brain the question "What is your marital status?" has only two possible answers - Single or Married. Looking, dating, engaged are all sub-sets of single. If you are separated you're still married (act accordingly). Divorced is an event - you're single. Facebook introduced me to a new "status" - "it's complicated." What the heck is that? I met an "it's complicated" person this year. Just want you to know - if you run across this blog - I'm praying for your marriage. God can simplify the complicated.

"The Poor"
(Religion and Politics)

If you've read my previous blog post you have an inkling of how I grew up and what shaped my philosophy on life. For me it's not "theory" but a way you live your life - both religion and politics).

I recently got sucked into a conversation (I knew better) that was going quite calmly then suddenly ended up with someone pointing a finger at me and saying "I don't like your attitude toward the poor." Wish I'd had some clever comeback but being me, human and fallible (not to mention egotistical) I responded angrily, "if I wanted what you have, I'd do what you do. If you want what I've got, than you can do what I've done." We stormed off in different directions. I'm glad now I didn't post the whole nine yards before I heard a talk on...

"Grace"

I attend Journey Community Church in La Mesa (and if you're in driving distance, you should too!) :) In a recent series titled, "HELLO, GOD" our teaching pastor Ed Noble invited John Lynch, the teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix. I couldn't do his talk justice and won't try. I just know I'm grateful for His grace. That, of course, just reminded me of a song that has touched me in a similar manner:

Give Me Grace
(Andy Gullahorn)

Last time I was here
I swore that I would change
and said only a fool
would make the same mistakes.
Being the fool I am,
I’m back again.

I’ve got no good excuse.
I’m out of things to say.
I’m starting to believe
I’ll always be this way.
My only hope inside
is that you would hear my cry.

Give me grace for when I can’t stop falling.
Give me strength to help me get back up.
Give me faith without proof.
Give me wisdom and truth.
Give me You.

I know I’ve got a choice
but I don’t want to choose.
I’ve tried that before
and I know I stand to lose.
I can not control
these failings on my own.

Give me grace for when I can’t stop falling.
Give me strength to help me get back up.
Give me faith without proof.
Give me wisdom and truth.
Give me You.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

If you don't agree with me am I wrong?

Nobody asked me but…

I’m on the fringe watching conversations take place (you couldn’t do that – watch a conversation - before Al Gore invented the Internet!). Twitter and Facebook offer a lot of opportunity for expression and transparency – not always well thought out, however. Or, maybe that’s an unfair statement since I have more than 140 characters to try and make my point.

If you go back a few post you can get a little of my historical perspective. I certainly don’t wish to be taken out of context but I just find it bothersome that some people have such a narrow view that rather than asking “what did you mean by that?” or “Would you care to expand on that thought?” they simply strike – with words. In essence “you’re wrong and I’m right – end of story.”

Somewhere in “Christianity” – where, I don’t know – came a viewpoint that poor = good and rich = bad. Perhaps it was to make the destitute feel better about their financial position. Or, could it have been an effort to pick the pockets of the well off? I don’t know, I didn’t start the rumor. I’ve heard the bible misquoted to say that “Money is the root of all evil” although we all know that it actually says “The love of money is the root of all evil.” By the way, you can commit that sin without a dime in your pocket! I might also add that “rich” and “poor” seem to be moving targets – kind of like the word “fair.”

Is there a moral amount? What is it? It seems that the answer depends on who you’re talking to. One theme that seems to be consistent in the conversation is that it’s always a little higher than the income of the person you’re talking to. I find that interesting. If they make 40K that’s OK but those making 50K are pushing the limit. But, when you talk to someone making 50K, their sure to admonish you to watch out for those making 60K. It’s really hard to keep a spiritual head on your shoulders when you’re rolling in that kind of dough.

You the reader may be – probably are – more well read than I but I’ve never found anywhere in my bible a permissible number of pesos, rupees, yen, won, baht or dollars that makes me more or less acceptable to Christ. I do, however, find many principles regarding how to handle money in my bible. I’ve also found – as have many – that when I follow the principles outlined in that book life goes better than when I do it my way.

As a child I’ve been homeless for brief periods, hungry frequently and always broke (I consider “broke” a financial condition and “poor” an attitude). Growing up in this condition and in church, while the prayers and hugs and conversation were appreciated the only reason I’m able to sit and type out this note is the invitations to lunch and dinner. Those invitations came from folks who were better off financially than our household. (And, I assure you, were the physical answer to a hungry child’s prayer!) Perhaps this would be a good time to say “thank-you” to those families in Collegedale, TN. Of particular note and at the risk of leaving some out, there were the Myers, Watsons, Gerharts and Shultz’ families. (None of whom I have had contact in nearly forty years)

Those were some learning years (4th – 8th grades). In retrospect I note that I was often in their homes but they were seldom (if ever) in mine. Could it be that they were gracious enough to include me in their family events – swimming/skiing at Lake Harrison, camping, etc so I could learn things that would help me to be successful as an adult? And, perhaps they didn’t want their kids learning from me? Likewise in Denver, CO. I would never have survived my two years of high school without the similar benefits bestowed by the Olson’s and Ordelheide’s.

As an adult, when I’m doing it His way, I’ve been blessed tremendously (see my post “Giving Dangerously”). From that blessing we’ve been able to do crazy things anonymously. We’ve paid a family’s electric bills, donated room air conditioners to a heat stressed family, given more food gift cards than I remember. I like to think that maybe God has used us to be the answer to someone’s prayer the way He used others to answer mine. I do know, however, that you can’t give away something you don’t have (unless you’re congress).

With all that said, here is the quote that started the fire storm “broke people can’t help poor and hurting people.” - Dave Ramsey. Surrounding this quote was a story that added a lot of context (that would have required a lot more than 140 characters). Personally, I found the quote impactful and not designed to offend but more to inspire the people who were listening. The audience was a very large group of people who strongly desired to learn how to handle money God’s way. Might I suggest that the quote is true particularly in this regard? You may consider yourself broke by the standard against which you measure yourself but to the homeless man you take to lunch you might as well be Bill Gates.

In closing (been running my mouth and fingers way to long), God requires 100% of my prayers (...no other gods before me, pray without ceasing). He requires 10% of my resources (Not because he needs the money but because he wants my obedience. It's ALL His anyway.) What I do with the rest of it is up to me. If I spend it by Master Card's or Visa's plan I have 9% - 30% less resources to provide for my family or to be available to answer His call. Hmmm...

Nobody asked me, but…

John Godfrey Saxe may have had a pretty good handle on this when penned:

“The Blind Men And The Elephant”

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!