Beyond the Talking Points: Taking a Deeper Look At America’s Issues

BEYOND THE TALKING POINTS

TAKING A DEEPER LOOK AT AMERICA’S ISSUES

MARK GOSHDIGIAN

Copyright © 2013, 2014 Mark Goshdigian.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1000-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1001-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-0999-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905515

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 06/18/2014

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Part I: Economic Topics and Governmental Issues

Introduction: Tough Questions: Who Plans to Ask Them?

Chapter 1: Wealth Accumulation: Driven by Savings, Not Consumption

Chapter 2: The Deficit and Debt: No Mention of Surplus

Chapter 3: Analyzing the Cycle of Debt

Chapter 4: The Unsustainable Government Business Model

Chapter 5: The Tax Debate

Chapter 6: The Inflation Tax (Removal of Purchasing Power)

Chapter 7: Dissecting the Subjective Concept of Affordability

Chapter 8: Is There Still a Housing Crisis?

Chapter 9: What’s the Federal Reserve’s End Game?

Chapter 10: The Impact of Globalization on America

Chapter 11: The Effects of Social Security on Retirement

Chapter 12: Brief Recap: Washington’s Consolidation of Power and Resources

Part II: Social Issues Driving a National Divide

Introduction: The Precedent of the Mandate

Chapter 13: America’s Current War: Wealth Disparity

Chapter 14: The Intersection of Ideology and Reality

Chapter 15: The Entitlement Culture

Chapter 16: The Growth of Liberalism: A Popular Movement Consistently Misunderstood

Chapter 17: Will President Obama Unintentionally Destroy the Liberal Movement?

Chapter 18: The President’s Call to Fairness: Understanding the Concept of Fair Share

Chapter 19: The Exodus: Americans Leaving High Tax States (the 50 Percent Rule)

Chapter 20: Tracing the Education Bubble in America: from Boom to Eventual Bust

Chapter 21: A Lost American Art: Failure

Chapter 22: The Melting Pot: America’s Dare to Be Great Situation

About the Author

References

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Writing this book has been nothing short of a thought—provoking journey driven by my desire to engage in a critical-thinking exercise for myself and for the benefit of anyone reading this book. When conceived, the goal of this book was to be able to put together a set of relevant and thought—provoking essays that were of interest to the average American. Too often, Americans receive diluted information from a variety of news sources: the Internet, television, print, and radio, among others. These news outlets typically have an agenda that is biased in some form or fashion.

Although I have my own political views, my goal is not to translate them into a manifesto to promote a certain agenda. Instead, it is to promote critical thinking by tackling a number of issues from various viewpoints and perspectives. My goal is to approach issues logically, unemotionally, and inquisitively, hence the conversational style and tone that can be found throughout. While the subjects tackled are generally rich in information, the goal in discussing them is not to lose touch with the exercise at hand, which is to think critically from different perspectives.

The focus can be broken down into two parts. First, the economic and governmental piece lays the groundwork on a number of closely related issues that drive the economic and political landscape in America today. In fact, many of the topics that have been chosen for discussion have many similarities, so it may seem as though certain points are emphasized or repeated. This was done intentionally because while many issues are interrelated, I believe that economic successes and failure help to shape social and political policies. As such, these topics are examined from various viewpoints using different examples.

Second, the cultural piece derives its basis from the economic and governmental piece. These chapters typically draw on the concepts from the first part of the book to bridge the economic, governmental, and cultural issues in various ways. The cultural issues allow for a more creative discussion using wider ranges of topics, whereas the economic and governmental chapters typically lay out facts in linear fashion with narrower discussion ranges.

It is my sincere hope that you find the following pages thought provoking and enlightening, but even if you find my lines of thinking different from yours, that isn’t a problem! Remember, my goal is to encourage thinking and discussion, not to cap or limit it. Disagreement is actually healthy to fostering discussion because both sides can lay out their discussion topics and evaluate them with specific supporting points. Approach these chapters with that mindset and there will be something for everyone to take away from this book. In other words, rip these pages apart and form your own thoughts! That’s my sincerest aim for anyone endeavoring to read the following pages.

Mark Goshdigian

PART I: ECONOMIC TOPICS AND GOVERNMENTAL ISSUES

INTRODUCTION

TOUGH QUESTIONS: WHO PLANS TO ASK THEM?

Remember that one person who seemingly always raises his or her hand during class and always has something to say? It doesn’t seem to matter whether he or she asks for his or her own benefit or answers the general question the professor has asked.

This person breaks the silence and replaces the droning professor’s voice, even if for a few seconds. Don’t we typically start to become annoyed with the person who continually asks or answers these questions? It seems he or she is either sucking up to be in the professor’s good graces or is trying to look smarter than everyone else in the room. Think about all the classes we’ve taken in all our years of education. From elementary school to high school to college and beyond, somewhere along the line we’ve undoubtedly encountered at least one student who chimes in more than everyone else on a regular basis.

Whether we like to believe it or not, these are the people asking the tough questions. Maybe it’s out of pride, or maybe we want to save ourselves the embarrassment of looking stupid if we miss a potentially key piece of information, but most of us simply don’t like speaking up. If we’re called on to answer a question or give our opinion we usually have no problem doing so, but otherwise it’s a generally unwritten rule that becoming a frequent talker in class is verboten.

Let’s take a step back and examine the sentiments we harbor toward our fellow classmates and try to figure out the root cause of our reactions. In order to do so, we need to ask questions. The goal of this book is to ask those tough questions from a variety of angles and perspectives on a regular basis in order to evoke critical thinking. Americans simply aren’t asking the right questions with respect to the economic situation, the government’s role in society, and the rapid shift in the culture.

With respect to the classroom example, a majority simply choose to dislike a minority because the minority has views or takes actions different from most of the group. In this situation, the majority represents students who don’t take that initiative. Because they as a group choose not to ask tough questions, they are intimidated by those doing so. As a reaction, they feel compelled to subtly dislike anyone choosing a different path because the answers are unknown to them, and they are fearful of that lack of knowledge. In fact, they even may feel threatened because there’s an outside chance their perceived worth will decrease in the eyes of the professor should they not choose to participate as much as those who are the most active.

So what does the majority choose to do about the fact that their influence or perceived self-worth might decrease while someone else’s rises? Well, they may do nothing. They may simply sit back and let others ask the questions while they scoff at the effort being put forth. Image has a lot to do with why they feel that way. For example, a common symptom children experience as they grow individually and intellectually is the avoidance of being as a nerd while trying to do their very best. This focus on image is a consequence of immaturity, but it is not the root cause. Instead, the root cause is that no one wants to risk speaking up because doing so without a positive reaction from the rest of the class has perceived negative social consequences.

Taking risks, however, is a vital part of growing one’s understanding about human existence, limits, and tendencies. In the above classroom example, the risk takers are the ones willing to put their interests at stake while risking the disapproval of their peers. Rationally speaking, how can the mute look up at the bold with anything other than humility in a situation like this one?

It may seem ironic, but this scenario manifests itself more than we’d care to believe in today’s culture. Take a pop-culture reference: imagine Michael Jordan taking the shot against the Cavaliers during the 1989 NBA Playoffs … and missing. No jumping up in the air in triumph, no release of the vitriol associated with losing with taking a risk and failing miserably.

Imagine Michael Jordan answering post-game questions like these, despite assuming all of the risk and the consequences of that risk:

•   Why didn’t you pass it to a teammate?

•   Why did you settle for a jump shot?

•   "Who decided that you take the last shot?"

Let’s say he had missed, and instead of the Chicago Bulls triumphing and moving on to the next round of the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers had won. Such is the way that different entities work in a capitalistic society: Individuals and businesses make decisions composed of different positive and negative risks, and any and all actions require some form of inherent risk. The result of a decision is a consequence. People willing to achieve the greatest levels of success are the ones willing to undertake risks with extremely negative consequences.

In a competitive economic landscape, the above translates into potential loss of capital, time spent with loved ones, or even both. Success breeds the opposite results, however, as everyone loves to win and nobody likes to lose. Whether you’re a business or an individual, how you rebound from losing is your response, and that response, more than anything, ultimately determines who you are in society relative to status, wealth, and any other tangible or measurable facet of the human experience.

The United States and its citizens have an entitlement problem. We, as a culture, have been living under the impression that things such as home ownership and consumerism drive and create wealth, and that if we experience some unexpected turbulence along the road to achieving the American Dream, someone will be there to give us the missing pieces, prop us up, and bail us out. A bailout is simply transference of risk from one entity to another; it is not a response to consequence.

Look at our society’s attitude: bitterness and jealousy come to the forefront when people try harder than others. Citizens in today’s society have become so unhappy because of issues like income disparity that they use it as a central argumentative crutch for explaining society’s problems rather than taking the time to examine the root cause. If nobody’s there to help us achieve the success of our neighbor, those who are unsuccessful will find someone to blame. As a result, the entitlement attitude takes over by inflating our collective egos. Members of our culture choose to put on a façade, while society as a whole continues to misrepresent American values to the global community.

Instead of getting a boost from our competitive spirit, this—let’s call them the We Collective—points fingers at the people who are ready to ask the tough questions to better themselves. They are seen as brutal killers of opportunity instead of what they really are: rational observers who see the economic crisis and related issues objectively and unbiased. America’s collective killer instinct is gone. My question here is simple: Why? Ignoring logic and reason, has the berating of peers entrenched itself in society as an acceptably suitable replacement to hard work, initiative, and logically progressive thinking?

Our culture has dictated that deflection and playing the blame game is the way to go. Think about the aforementioned scenario where we miss a piece of key information during a class and couldn’t write it down. Say none of our peers around us heard it either. Given the choice to either raise our hand and stop the current proceedings or wait until after class to e-mail our professor, which one are we more likely to choose?

If we continue along this road as a nation, we’re eventually going to find a bridge that we can’t cross without people who are willing to ask the tough questions. Instead of discouraging those people who are willing to put themselves out there to better themselves and others, we need to do the opposite. We’ll eventually learn that the mess we create cannot be cleaned up by anyone other than ourselves. Furthermore, we can’t plead ignorance when the issues we’ve continually ignored or put out of mind come back to negatively affect us. As a nation, we will have had more than enough time to see the most predictable financial disaster in the history of the country manifest, grow out of control, and collapse the economy.

Now imagine we’re back in the classroom during a Q&A session, and someone raises his or her hand to pose this question: What will affect our financial and social futures the most?

There are several behaviors and entities that can actively affect an individual’s economic reality. If we had to pick the culprits out of a police lineup, we would select the following: generational fiscal discipline, spending and saving habits, and current government policy, involvement, and intervention. First and foremost, we as individuals are effectively responsible the large majority of our financial future. Are there other entities that can heavily influence our lifestyles? Perhaps the federal government plays a role in this equation as well.

But let’s start with ourselves. When we think about our level of fiscal discipline, the average American citizen is significantly less disciplined than the average citizen of the world. American citizens have been indoctrinated by a culture of consumerism, spending, and below-average levels of financial decision making. Let’s quickly examine consumerism and spending habits: On what goods and services do we spend our money?

Necessities sure, but what about luxury items? Where can we afford to cut back? If we use credit cards, are we paying off the balance on time? Are we making sure we don’t overdraft our bank accounts? The answers to all these questions are driven by the day-to-day choices individuals are allowed to make in society. Since we are ultimately responsible, should we be allowed to blame anyone other than ourselves?

Overextension will be the number-one reason future generations, starting with mine, will fail to accumulate wealth like their parents. Instead of saving, society implores us to spend. Instead of spending wisely once we save, we might buy an even bigger ticket item that is essentially useless. As consumers, we make our own choices, and in the recent past we made poor short-term decisions that will influence and cause more severe long-term problems. By overextending ourselves and not taking responsibility, we effective create the first of several disadvantages that our society will soon come to face.

Our We Collective currently attempts to transfer risk to politicians, political policies, and the individuals behind them, claiming the consequences of these policies are the root cause of our problems. The We Collective has failed to look at the several key data points: the people elect politicians and individual Americans are directly in charge of nearly all day-to-day decisions. In reality, the consequences fall on Americans because they choose the political class and make their own financial decisions, two privileges that come with being a member of American society.

Understanding how to balance one’s own checkbook is not the responsibility of anyone other than the individual with the pen. Others can and should help, but the beauty of living in a free society has significant benefits in terms of continuing education: if Americans don’t know about a particular subject but want to, they can find a place to learn it. There is no law that caps education or permits only the most intelligent members of society from obtaining the high-level degrees.

Since Americans make our own decisions on how to spend our money, no one else can be to blame. If an individual has $10,000 of saved cash and an annual income of $50,000, does it make sense to spend money on a house that costs $150,000? Nobody except for the person in that situation can realistically and accurately answer that question of affordability because nobody but him or her understands or interfaces with that person’s habits as a consumer. People need to budget carefully, ask themselves relevant questions, and make an informed decision.

Consumerism is and will continue to be a dangerous part of American society. More often than not, Americans make impulsive purchases because they have a little bit of money in the bank and want something nice. Instead of saying no when tempted to purchase an item, they cannot resist the urge to impulsively buy. They instinctively decide that the immediate satisfaction will be more important. This is the consequence of creating a culture driven by consumerism and spending. Without the discipline to save and restrict ourselves from spending loosely, living a comfortable lifestyle will not just become much more difficult, it will be impossible.

Think of the logic behind some of society’s most visible and demonstrative examples of discontent. The 99%/1% paradigm and Occupy Wall Street are two of the most immediately demonstrative examples of what is fundamentally wrong with American society. Successful individuals who work hard and are typecast as the 1% are vilified in the same way as people who ask tough questions in class. Their effort is not praised; it is frowned upon and looked upon as a primitive version of the entitlement problem plaguing American society.

Moreover, the single greatest threat to American society as we know it rests with the phrase pay your fair share, a phrase that will be addressed over the course of an entire chapter. Success and accumulated wealth comes from producing a better product or providing a better service than anyone else in a given marketplace. A successful individual or corporation that earns of profit $1,000,000 because of design, development, branding, and distribution of a product doesn’t owe money to other entities that created an inferior product, or no product, for that matter. Reward and the incentive to continue to create are consequences of the positive and negative risks undertaken while conducting business.

Given that the sentiment of the We Collective has attempted to transfer risk to the government and its politicians, political policies, and the individuals behind them, we should also shift our attention there, as I believe the federal government’s deficit spending is the single greatest financial threat to American society. Many younger Americans don’t trust the government, don’t care enough about how the government could potentially influence their lives, or don’t know enough about how the government has negatively and almost irreversibly impacted their chance at prosperous futures.

Instead, we cheer for slogans, taglines, memes, tweets, and status updates. As the government continues to spend and create a bigger national debt while simultaneously running a continuous annual deficit, the We Collective should become increasingly more concerned with what’s going on in Capitol Hill. The government is effectively mortgaging the country’s future, and the We Collective hasn’t done enough research to oppose the current course of action. That’s our problem: we are not well-enough informed, and even if we were, we don’t have the desire to be more vocal and voice our opinions, to essentially raise our hands in class.

Unfortunately, we are now being forced to care because the government has put us into a downward spiral that is bringing us toward the level of the rest of the world. It still baffles me why we live in a country with the tagline of the greatest country on Earth and have a government that wants to strip its citizens of that status. If the government really wants to help us—which I firmly believe it does—then it should step out of our way and let us work to keep this country great. It’s not completely broken, but pretty soon we will have to step in and say enough is enough.

The current leadership needs, regardless of party affiliation, to understand that we as a society are ready and capable of working hard to create for ourselves. It must learn to understand that risks and consequences are not root causes. Despite being a governing entity with limits, our government continually forgets that its citizens have the power and control to decide what to do with our savings, our capital, our investments, and our profits.

Those same leaders are currently shaping policies that provide business owners, corporations, and individuals with disincentives to work, hire, grow, and operate without true, non-transferable risk. Entities in the private sector will continue to operate in the same ways as before: keep wages artificially low, outsource jobs, find ways not to hire, and continually engage in risky business practices because the government will come to their aid as an insurance broker.

At what point are we going to ask our next tough question: How is this sustainable? Only a small percentage of Americans work for the federal government. How can they adequately provide all the necessary goods and services that the other three hundred million-plus Americans and change need? The simple answer is that the government can’t provide for everyone.

The more government involvement leaders in Washington DC push for, the greater risk of failure our current system will ultimately face. A system where so few provide for so many cannot provide enough quality services to satisfy the majority. Eventually we will become much more aware that these problems need to be addressed. Once we see that transitioning into a different type of system isn’t working, we will ultimately ask the next tough questions: Why did we even experiment with a system that has been proven to not work? And why did we ignore the true root causes of the past few years?

As soon as the We Collective understands the system put in place by the current presidential and congressional leadership, it will see how continued government involvement can have such a big effect on individual livelihood. Government involvement directly influences the individual work ethic; it also affects individual levels of accumulated wealth and ties into individual motivational drive when policies enacted continue to redistribute wealth.

Wealth accumulation is possible in the United States because of the free market system. On the other hand, the transfer of existing wealth is a zero-sum game. But wealth can be diluted because there’s