It is certainly no secrete that we have, in the USA, a serious problem regarding social and racial inequality, and I agree there should be no harm in publicly acknowledging this fact. Our constitution's second amendment does indeed afford us protection, as stated below.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Some of the professional athletes, of late, are trying to draw attention to these stark inequalities in our society, and that is a good thing. However, showing outright disrespect concerning our national symbols, like our flag, and the national anthem, is not the right way to go about. Since a very long time people, historically, have always stood up straight, with one hand over the heart, while our anthem was played. President Obama, apparently, may have been the exception, on at least one occasion, when he was seen, on TV, having his hands folded below his navel area, while the anthem was played, or the pledge of allegiance was spoken.
We should also consider the millions of Americans, our brothers and sisters, who have given their lives, in a number of wars, carrying these symbols in their hearts, and our flag into battles. How can anybody show utter disrespect for our national symbols, in light of all these sacrifices?
In my opinion, it is certainly disingenuous, on the part of these athletes to decry social inequalities, when they themselves are part of the problem. Together with their owners, they are guilty of indirectly stealing great sums of money, from mostly working people, who in many cases live from paycheck to paycheck. In defense of the owners, I must acknowledge that they are practically forced into gouging the public because of the high fees/salaries demanded by their players. These astronomical salaries far exceed what they should receive for their services. I venture to say these players are not any better than the players of old, who, by the way, performed mostly without the use of drugs, and for a lot less money.
I would not be surprised that buying tickets to sporting events, today, will often result in shortchanging the needs of families. These athletes, apparently, have no problem with this; the money they carry to the banks is saturated with blood, sweat and tears of the working people, no doubt. Whenever I watch their self-righteous performance on the national news networks, I smell a strong odor of hypocrisy. If they really care about our social inequity, why don’t they donate 50% of their inflated salaries to help minimize this social problem?
Their donations could also help in minimizing racial inequalities, by building better schools in mostly black areas, finance clinics to provide better healthcare, and ensure all people of color, and others in inner cities, have at least one good meal a day.
Their public performance cost them nothing; to the contrary, it gives them top billing on national television that normally would cost in the thousands of dollars. These players, while exercising their first amendment rights, are doing so in a very disrespectful, hurtful, and insulting manner, while at the same time providing a bad example for our young people of today.
Myself, I stopped going to the games a long time ago, when I saw the extreme greed attached to these events; these professional sports, today, act like a cancer feeding on the host, the public. They forget that when the host eventually dies, they also perish.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Sunday, September 3, 2017
When Business Ethics still existed ...
I was recently shopping for a new Smart Phone, for a gift, on Amazon, and after reading customer reviews, I became to realize that no matter how much money one is willing to spend, the failures rates of these items are far beyond, so called, normal.
First, I looked at the lesser expensive models, and from a sample of 12 different items, the average failure rate was 20%, and the range was from 9% to 37%. I considered a single star rating a failure; many of these complaint that Amazon made no provision for zero, or no stars.
Next, I looked at models from Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, etc., also on Amazon, and found the following failure rates, from small samples of six (6) each, for a total sample of 24. The average, apparent, failure rate was 21.9%, and the range was 0% to 33%. There was only one cell phone, in the sample, which had no one star rating.
As can be seen from the foregoing, price did not guaranty better performance. It appears, cell phone manufacturers rely on the fact, that too many of us are so addicted to these gadgets, that we buy them knowing that they may be bad on arrival, or soon thereafter, i.e., fully realizing that too many fail, well before their time, for a variety of reasons.
There were times when manufactures, of electronics, were stress testing each item, before it was offered for sale; they took care of the so called 'infant mortality rate', or early failures. Nowadays, it is the consumer who is expected to discover these early/premature failures, and what is astonishing, consumers apparently put up with this nonsense. Instead of enjoying their purchase, they now often have to beg to get their money back, or a replacement unit, but not before the defective unit is returned. To add insult to injury, some vendors expect the buyer to pay for the return postage. There is no compensation for the inconvenience experienced by the consumer; packing and mailing the defective item, and being without a phone for some time.
The reliability curve for electronic equipment resembles the cross-section of a bathtub, first the failure rate is high (infant mortality), and slowly decreases as time goes by. After some period this negative slope reaches a point where the constant failure rate begins. This would be the flat section of the bathtub, where time in use does not affect the operational utility. After that the curve meets with a point, where the failure rate increases again, mostly because of age and wear-out.
In an effort to increase their profit margins the new breed of manufacturers, and their managers, decided to dispense with the initial stress tests, and shift this burden to the willing consumer; no longer is the customer their 'King', but their fool. Similarly, when problems arise with a product, one can no longer talk to a manufacturer's technician, when seeking help; questions are now handled by consumer forums. These well-meaning people, for the most part, are less than qualified to provide answers to complex product issues, at least this has been my experience.
No sane store owner would keep a product on his/her shelves with a 20% or more failure rate; to handle so many customer complaints would not be economical, the stores reputation would adversely suffer as well. However, these modern giants of industry and retail, appear not to care, mainly because the consumer of today, who may be tech. savvy, no longer knows that when one buys a new product, it is supposed to work for a long time without aggravation. And, guess what, the cost of handling all these failures, is simply added to the cost of doing business, and is included in the price calculation, thus the consumer is subsidizing the sloppiness of the manufacturer. Is it not great to be a manufacturer these days? The same holds true for the giant retailers, who have priced in their extra handling of defective goods, and yes, the consumers pays for this as well.
Sadly, Amazon, apparently, does not use its considerable power to insist that manufacturers, and sellers refrain from knowingly continue to list inferior products, as evidenced by consumer reviews. It appears, Amazon is knowingly or unwittingly selling inferior products, which can only brand them as a supplier of junk products, should this trend continue.
As an aside, it appears, the consumer dependent complex managed nicely, with the help of others, to ensure that people instead of buying descent clothes, have money to purchase their latest unnecessary gadget, by convincing us that wearing mostly long lasting jeans is cool and fashionable. And, since even jeans eventually acquire holes from constant use, we are now shown that jeans with ugly holes and tears, are even more fashionable. We the consumers have become so dependent on these gadgets , it seems, that we would even run around in our underwear if necessary, to get our gadget fix.
It is said, our morals are in a steep decline, must our intellect follow this same negative slope?
First, I looked at the lesser expensive models, and from a sample of 12 different items, the average failure rate was 20%, and the range was from 9% to 37%. I considered a single star rating a failure; many of these complaint that Amazon made no provision for zero, or no stars.
Next, I looked at models from Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, etc., also on Amazon, and found the following failure rates, from small samples of six (6) each, for a total sample of 24. The average, apparent, failure rate was 21.9%, and the range was 0% to 33%. There was only one cell phone, in the sample, which had no one star rating.
As can be seen from the foregoing, price did not guaranty better performance. It appears, cell phone manufacturers rely on the fact, that too many of us are so addicted to these gadgets, that we buy them knowing that they may be bad on arrival, or soon thereafter, i.e., fully realizing that too many fail, well before their time, for a variety of reasons.
There were times when manufactures, of electronics, were stress testing each item, before it was offered for sale; they took care of the so called 'infant mortality rate', or early failures. Nowadays, it is the consumer who is expected to discover these early/premature failures, and what is astonishing, consumers apparently put up with this nonsense. Instead of enjoying their purchase, they now often have to beg to get their money back, or a replacement unit, but not before the defective unit is returned. To add insult to injury, some vendors expect the buyer to pay for the return postage. There is no compensation for the inconvenience experienced by the consumer; packing and mailing the defective item, and being without a phone for some time.
The reliability curve for electronic equipment resembles the cross-section of a bathtub, first the failure rate is high (infant mortality), and slowly decreases as time goes by. After some period this negative slope reaches a point where the constant failure rate begins. This would be the flat section of the bathtub, where time in use does not affect the operational utility. After that the curve meets with a point, where the failure rate increases again, mostly because of age and wear-out.
In an effort to increase their profit margins the new breed of manufacturers, and their managers, decided to dispense with the initial stress tests, and shift this burden to the willing consumer; no longer is the customer their 'King', but their fool. Similarly, when problems arise with a product, one can no longer talk to a manufacturer's technician, when seeking help; questions are now handled by consumer forums. These well-meaning people, for the most part, are less than qualified to provide answers to complex product issues, at least this has been my experience.
No sane store owner would keep a product on his/her shelves with a 20% or more failure rate; to handle so many customer complaints would not be economical, the stores reputation would adversely suffer as well. However, these modern giants of industry and retail, appear not to care, mainly because the consumer of today, who may be tech. savvy, no longer knows that when one buys a new product, it is supposed to work for a long time without aggravation. And, guess what, the cost of handling all these failures, is simply added to the cost of doing business, and is included in the price calculation, thus the consumer is subsidizing the sloppiness of the manufacturer. Is it not great to be a manufacturer these days? The same holds true for the giant retailers, who have priced in their extra handling of defective goods, and yes, the consumers pays for this as well.
Sadly, Amazon, apparently, does not use its considerable power to insist that manufacturers, and sellers refrain from knowingly continue to list inferior products, as evidenced by consumer reviews. It appears, Amazon is knowingly or unwittingly selling inferior products, which can only brand them as a supplier of junk products, should this trend continue.
As an aside, it appears, the consumer dependent complex managed nicely, with the help of others, to ensure that people instead of buying descent clothes, have money to purchase their latest unnecessary gadget, by convincing us that wearing mostly long lasting jeans is cool and fashionable. And, since even jeans eventually acquire holes from constant use, we are now shown that jeans with ugly holes and tears, are even more fashionable. We the consumers have become so dependent on these gadgets , it seems, that we would even run around in our underwear if necessary, to get our gadget fix.
It is said, our morals are in a steep decline, must our intellect follow this same negative slope?
Friday, August 25, 2017
When Reading This Blog ... You Are Not Alone
In case you are wondering who else reads this blog, here is a table giving you the answer. These statistics were provided by 'BlogSpot.com', the host of this blog.
Thank you all for your social concerns!
Thank you all for your social concerns!
United States
|
4152
|
Russia
|
631
|
Germany
|
421
|
Brazil
|
210
|
Ukraine
|
193
|
France
|
146
|
Turkey
|
123
|
Ireland
|
75
|
Malaysia
|
59
|
United Kingdom
|
55
|
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Socrates-the Greek Philosopher (469-299 B.C.E.) Identified The Problem
Pretty much everybody senses that the morals of societies, worldwide, are in a drastic decline, while at the same time the societal problems are increasing at an exponential rate. Why might this be so? To begin with let us identify some of the manifestations of moral decline reported in the media.
Driver ploughs into pedestrians
Gunman kills and hurts many in movie theatre
Service men commit suicide at an alarming rate
Vandals destroy historical monument
Teen commits suicide following harassment on social media
Young man kills self; following prolonged inducement by young woman, to do so.
The list could continue practically forever, but we get the drift don’t we? One might ask, what is going on here? While violence in wartimes is readily understood, violence within a society is an enigma.
Some of the perpetrators of violence are young people, while others are soldiers returning from little wars in other countries, who become abusive with their spouses, and/or their surrounding. The latter often suffer from depression, or the so-called post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, accompanied by personality changes. Police officers are sometimes reported as spouse abusers, the very people called to intervene when domestic violence is at issue.
It is most difficult to identify the root causes of these extreme, and violent expressions, because the affected individuals mostly refuse to share their most inner struggles, with others. Moreover, these individuals often seek to repress their dramatic experiences, either witnessed or perhaps perpetrated by them. Governments in so-called developed countries, ours included, in the name of political correctness, have started to remove religious symbols from the lives of their citizenry. It seems, I was mistakenly thinking the USA was a christian country. Will they next remove all money which shows "IN GOD WE TRUST"? Currently, in our country, historical statutes are also removed, by local authorities, for fear of offending some of us. Gangs of lawless people can be seen on TV destroying historical monuments without being challenged by the police. Is not ISIS doing the exact same thing?
Whether or not one is a religious person or not, we should agree at least that religion represents a moral compass, without which too many of us cannot function in a civilized manner. The cathartic redemption (catharsis), following confession and absolution, is indirectly taken away from some of these troubled souls. Socrates held the view, that whenever we are unjust to others, or hurt others; we not only afflict damage upon the victim, but deal a severe blow to our soul as well. A damaged soul brings about pain and suffering of the individual, if not immediately certainly in the future.
We, as members of the human society, should consider first being ethical towards others in all our dealings, and the ramifications for our own souls, before we inflict damage onto others, with words or deeds. Socrates suggests that the damage to ones soul is greater than the damage inflicted upon the victim.
To me, it is amazing how Socrates’ description of the children of that day, fits so perfectly for the children of today.
“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”
― Socrates
Today some children turn into monsters unbeknownst to their parents. In hindsight, parents acknowledge that their child was a loner, kind of withdrawn from the family, but they thought, wrongly, it was nothing to be alarmed about; they wanted to give their child private space. Here too Socrates had the correct reason for the child’s created wall.
“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”
― Socrates
Parents must break this wall down, and show that they care, this way a child seeking attention and confirmation, need not perpetrate crimes to get the attention desired.
Our politicians are no good example for our young either; all they young people see is their greed and self-serving actions, to the detriment of the nation. It is all about winning, thus corrupting the minds of the young; many of whom start to think that this is the norm, and must be adopted by them, in order to succeed. Politicians are also a poor example, for our young, when it comes to losing; they cannot admit defeat gracefully. Here too Socrates had the insight!
“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”
― Socrates
To fully appreciate the importance of a healthy soul we must also go back to the text in scriptures, which is very instructive, along the lines of the world’s great philosophers. The bottom-line seems to be that the damaged souls will perish, while the undamaged soul will be eternal. While there are many examples, I will only site a few, which leave no doubt as to the end of both the damaged and undamaged soul. It does not matter, in my opinion, whether one believes God, or just the intuition of men possessing an undamaged soul inspired the scriptures.
Ezekiel – 18:4
For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die.
18:20
Only the one who sins shall die … .
18:21
But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
18:24
And if the virtues man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die.
It is evident that we all shall die at the end of our lives, therefore, Ezekiel must be speaking of a second death, after the soul departed the body.
Matthew - 10:28
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
The world's social conscience, ours included, is mostly, for all practical purposes, dead. Consider the following.
We no longer care, universally, for our fellow men (includes women)
We take advantage of our brothers and sisters, on this planet, when and wherever we can
We lie in our courts to win the process, for personal gain; truth no longer matters; lawyers are expected to help us lie more convincingly, and often they do
We slander others falsely on social media
We overcharge for services rendered
We steal goods from stores
We mistreat our spouses and the elderly
We do not respect age
We do not respect our fellow men
Bottom-line we are no longer ethical in all our dealings
It is no wonder that so many people are totally screwed-up, and suffer the effects of their damaged soul. Nowadays we have all these mentally disjointed individuals, seeking fame by carrying out ever more headlines making murders and mayhem. Today, the grosser a posting is on social media, the more attention it gets; it goes viral so the saying is. Everybody, it seems is trying to outdo the other, just to become viral on the media.
Our young people of today have been totally abandoned by us, the older generation, for some time now; we have thought them nothing about being a descent human being. We buy them their first electronic device to keep them occupied, so we can concentrate on our own desires, instead. We do not even perceive, or care that our future generation and we are going down the toilet. It is probably fair to say that this current older generation has also been neglected, and therefore lacks the necessary skills to properly grow this young generation.
Even if we do not care about the afterlife, let us at least care about the here and now; we must reverse this downward spiral of our morals and ethics now! Save this young generation now, and you will probably help to save mankind's future.
If you care enough to bring about a reversal of our declining morals and ethics, then kindly share this with your circle of contacts, and ask them to do the same; to borrow a phrase from the young, it could go viral, and thus will influence many.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Note to President Trump-posted on White House web-site
"Mr. President,
It appears, instead of fighting ISIS, you are about to fight their fight. Ron Paul (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-06/ron-paul-zero-chance-assad-behind-chemical-weapons-attack-syria-likely-false-flag) is absolutely right, logic tells us that the only beneficiaries of this chemical attack are our military complex and ISIS, I suggest the latter have once again sacrificed innocent humans to try to drag the US into their fight against Assad. In other words, we are dealing with a false flag attack. ISIS in the aftermath probably mixed with the victims proclaiming (lying) that the gas was delivered via bombs, designed to clearly point the finger at Assad and his military. If this is all it takes to get us involved, we must either be looking for any excuse to bomb Syria, or we lack simple logic. Why are we not considering investigating this incidence first, before we jump to conclusion? They (ISIS) most likely targeted women and children, fully knowing the effect it would have around the world. This is not the first time false flag attacks have been used to advance their objective.
Currently it looks like that, we the US are easy to provoke to support anybody's objective, including the objectives of ISIS, apparently. Let us not jump to conclusion, based on what somebody said on the ground; we know that ISIS can mingle with victims, claiming to be survivors. The White Helmets, in Syria, are a good example, for this argument; these white helmets are a convenient way to disguise themselves. By some accounts, they were shown to commit atrocities, just before they placed these helmets onto their heads, playing the role of rescuers.
Please let us investigate first!
Frank Maier"
_________________________________
Why am I concerned about this rush to action? Having lived through WW II as a innocent civilian, I do not wish to see us adding more victims than already exist. There is always, what is called, collateral damage; this collateral damage happen to be dead or injured human beings, and not some stone buildings only. I am also against this rush to action without some fact finding, first. Starting military action based on rumors and hearsay only, is always bad news.
In addition, the world has been deceived by these White Helmets with propaganda films, to the point that at one time they were considered for the Nobel peace price; only outcries by people in the know stopped this madness. Go onto the web and do your research, and you will find the other side of the coin, like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS1Nx8L3QTk, which has photographic evidence showing their real purpose in life, and it is not saving people. These ISIS criminals are supported with millions of dollars not only by the USA, but also by Britain and other countries; for honorable purposes? I think not.
At times, the US and other Governments publicly announce a red line, which when crossed by a certain country, thus warned, would trigger a severe response against that party. This could be a well meaning warning, but it has drastic side-effects, because opposition parties to the government warned, now have a clear target for a false flag attack, which is guaranteed to advance their illegal objectives. History shows that many major world conflicts were the result of false flag attacks by a third party. ISIS (and their many associates) is no exception; this scenario has been demonstrated a number of times, in recent history.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Letter To Trump Posted on the White House Site
Mr. President,
This is not the first time I am writing to you, however, this time I advise you to really pay attention, because the recent flop with the American Health Care Act must not be repeated, lest your reputation as a clever man will be lost forever. You made the mistake to trust Ryan too much; you gave him too much credit for intelligence, which he evidently has not. Before one launches boat, one must always make sure there is plenty of water over the rocks; he did not. The handling of the AHCA, by him, demonstrates to me that the Peter Principle has caught up with him; he is in a position, which is way over his head, as big as it might be.
Before you lunch the boat called ‘Tax Reform’, you had better make sure yourself that the rocks have plenty of water over them and some. I suggest you collect written pledges from every GOP house member; less than 100 % positive response is not acceptable; only and only then must this bill be presented to the Congress. The GOP member must be given to understand, after that; there is no change of intent to vote for the bill. In fairness, the GOP membership must become part of the deal; a Power Point presentation alone will not do, they must have a stake in it, they must believe in the goods, for they too have to sell it at home.
I suggest manageable groups are established, to go over the next proposal, which are required to provide their input (concerns and suggested improvements regarding these concerns); critics without alternative suggestions are not allowed. This process must take place long before any new act is thrown over the proverbial wall, i.e., presented to Congress.
What the White House needs is a Director Quality/Reliability Assurance, overseeing this kind of processes. This function must report directly to you, and you must not select a person afraid of giving you bad news, when applicable, including telling you without fear that you are wrong, when it applies. People who ‘kiss your ass', are of no value to you, the only help your certain demise, should your ego listen.
I wish you good luck, but unfortunately you need more than that.
Regards,
Frank Maier
www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
This is not the first time I am writing to you, however, this time I advise you to really pay attention, because the recent flop with the American Health Care Act must not be repeated, lest your reputation as a clever man will be lost forever. You made the mistake to trust Ryan too much; you gave him too much credit for intelligence, which he evidently has not. Before one launches boat, one must always make sure there is plenty of water over the rocks; he did not. The handling of the AHCA, by him, demonstrates to me that the Peter Principle has caught up with him; he is in a position, which is way over his head, as big as it might be.
Before you lunch the boat called ‘Tax Reform’, you had better make sure yourself that the rocks have plenty of water over them and some. I suggest you collect written pledges from every GOP house member; less than 100 % positive response is not acceptable; only and only then must this bill be presented to the Congress. The GOP member must be given to understand, after that; there is no change of intent to vote for the bill. In fairness, the GOP membership must become part of the deal; a Power Point presentation alone will not do, they must have a stake in it, they must believe in the goods, for they too have to sell it at home.
I suggest manageable groups are established, to go over the next proposal, which are required to provide their input (concerns and suggested improvements regarding these concerns); critics without alternative suggestions are not allowed. This process must take place long before any new act is thrown over the proverbial wall, i.e., presented to Congress.
What the White House needs is a Director Quality/Reliability Assurance, overseeing this kind of processes. This function must report directly to you, and you must not select a person afraid of giving you bad news, when applicable, including telling you without fear that you are wrong, when it applies. People who ‘kiss your ass', are of no value to you, the only help your certain demise, should your ego listen.
I wish you good luck, but unfortunately you need more than that.
Regards,
Frank Maier
www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Believe It Or Not
A concerned reader (who wishes to remain incognito) sent me the following, by email, and kindly agreed for me to post it on my Blog; I have not verified the entire claims made, however from my past readings I was able to ascertain that some truth is certainly reflected. If you doubt any of it, do your own research, and if you find that some are false, let us know via a comment, please.
"How come nobody talks about this,
Why do so many people think the Democrats are sooo GREAT??? Why? Why are they giving
OUR hard earned monies to people who did not pay into social security? And why are we
now paying taxes on it? Joke, joke, joke- don't know how many of you got a "raise" from
social security???? But not, it all went back to them to pay more for Medicare??? OMG ,
what happened to "we the people"? Why are we allowing ourselves to get less & less. We gotta
start taking back what is ours. Why are people all caught up in what Pres. Trump is trying to do and
forgetting the crap that has gone on of more than 8-12 years w/the Democrats "shafting" us???"
I know the foregoing to be fact, because it happened to me as well; my net increase for 2017 was Zero! Refer to my post, dated December 19, 2016, open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump.
The writer also included the following she had received by email, from a party unknown to me.
"History Lesson on Your Social Security Card
Just in case some of you young whippersnappers
(& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to
check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show
it to your family and friends. They need a little history
lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether
you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated
the number and card were not to be used for identification
purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now
has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway
and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
��
1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,
No longer Voluntary
��
2.) That the participants would only have to pay
1% of the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program,
Now 7.65%
on the first $90,000
��
3.) That the money the participants elected to put
into the Program would be deductible from
their income for tax purposes each year,
No longer tax deductible
��
4.) That the money the participants put into the
independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the
general operating fund, and therefore, would
only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other
Government program, and,
Under Johnson the money was moved to
The General Fund and Spent
��
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never
be taxed as income.
��
Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed
��
Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are
now receiving a Social Security check every month --
and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of
the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----
��
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the
independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically
controlled House and Senate.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --
��
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
��
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
��
Q: Which Political Party decided to start
giving annuity payments to immigrants?
��
AND MY FAVORITE:
A: That's right!
Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.
Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them,
even though they never paid a dime into it!
��
------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------
��
Then, after violating the original contract (FICA),
the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans
want to take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of
awareness will be planted and maybe changes will
evolve.
But it's worth a try.
How many people can YOU send this to?
��
Actions speak louder than bumper stickers
��
PLEASE DO KEEP THIS ONE ROLLING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
HOPEFULLY IT WILL OPEN A FEW EYES!!!!!"
"How come nobody talks about this,
Why do so many people think the Democrats are sooo GREAT??? Why? Why are they giving
OUR hard earned monies to people who did not pay into social security? And why are we
now paying taxes on it? Joke, joke, joke- don't know how many of you got a "raise" from
social security???? But not, it all went back to them to pay more for Medicare??? OMG ,
what happened to "we the people"? Why are we allowing ourselves to get less & less. We gotta
start taking back what is ours. Why are people all caught up in what Pres. Trump is trying to do and
forgetting the crap that has gone on of more than 8-12 years w/the Democrats "shafting" us???"
I know the foregoing to be fact, because it happened to me as well; my net increase for 2017 was Zero! Refer to my post, dated December 19, 2016, open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump.
The writer also included the following she had received by email, from a party unknown to me.
"History Lesson on Your Social Security Card
Just in case some of you young whippersnappers
(& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to
check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show
it to your family and friends. They need a little history
lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether
you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated
the number and card were not to be used for identification
purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now
has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway
and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
��
1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,
No longer Voluntary
��
2.) That the participants would only have to pay
1% of the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program,
Now 7.65%
on the first $90,000
��
3.) That the money the participants elected to put
into the Program would be deductible from
their income for tax purposes each year,
No longer tax deductible
��
4.) That the money the participants put into the
independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the
general operating fund, and therefore, would
only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other
Government program, and,
Under Johnson the money was moved to
The General Fund and Spent
��
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never
be taxed as income.
��
Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed
��
Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are
now receiving a Social Security check every month --
and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of
the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----
��
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the
independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically
controlled House and Senate.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --
��
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
��
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
��
Q: Which Political Party decided to start
giving annuity payments to immigrants?
��
AND MY FAVORITE:
A: That's right!
Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.
Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them,
even though they never paid a dime into it!
��
------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------
��
Then, after violating the original contract (FICA),
the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans
want to take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of
awareness will be planted and maybe changes will
evolve.
But it's worth a try.
How many people can YOU send this to?
��
Actions speak louder than bumper stickers
��
PLEASE DO KEEP THIS ONE ROLLING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
HOPEFULLY IT WILL OPEN A FEW EYES!!!!!"
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
My Last Letter from President Obama
I sent many a letters and notes to President Obama, on a variety of issues and concerns, to some he replied, while keeping silent on others; here is my last letter from him.
Unfortunately too few of us take the time to write to our elected officials, and let them know our concerns, and suggestions for a better America. It is never a waste of time to express ourselves; we do have the constitutional right under the 'First Amendment', which guaranties our freedom of speech. Moreover, article 19 of the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights', adopted in 1948, reinforces the 'First Amendment' of our constitution, and states: Freedom of expression is the right of every individual.
Convincing our Government to change course for the better is a big numbers game, and it is therefore that I urge all of you to join, and follow this blog; add your comments on the issues, and I will make sure our voices are heard, at the highest level if need be; I am not afraid, nor is my social conscience in a coma. Convince your families and friends to do the same; either through a 'Geometrical' or 'Exponential' progression, we will achieve the number of citizens that politicians will listen to. Awaken your social conscience and work for a better America for all!
Unfortunately too few of us take the time to write to our elected officials, and let them know our concerns, and suggestions for a better America. It is never a waste of time to express ourselves; we do have the constitutional right under the 'First Amendment', which guaranties our freedom of speech. Moreover, article 19 of the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights', adopted in 1948, reinforces the 'First Amendment' of our constitution, and states: Freedom of expression is the right of every individual.
Convincing our Government to change course for the better is a big numbers game, and it is therefore that I urge all of you to join, and follow this blog; add your comments on the issues, and I will make sure our voices are heard, at the highest level if need be; I am not afraid, nor is my social conscience in a coma. Convince your families and friends to do the same; either through a 'Geometrical' or 'Exponential' progression, we will achieve the number of citizens that politicians will listen to. Awaken your social conscience and work for a better America for all!
Monday, January 16, 2017
Sometimes the Whitehouse Does Respond to Letters
I recently received a letter from VP Biden in response to one of mine to him.
The moral of this story is, if enough people will address a problem, they will take notice, and in some cases take action. Are you ready to add your voice for 'Social Justice'? Please follow this Blog to help create that statistically significant number that politicians cannot ignore any longer.
The moral of this story is, if enough people will address a problem, they will take notice, and in some cases take action. Are you ready to add your voice for 'Social Justice'? Please follow this Blog to help create that statistically significant number that politicians cannot ignore any longer.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position?
The following was posted on Trump's website 12/27/2016
Dear Mr. President-Elect,
You recently made the following statement, which is quoted below.
Statement from President-Elect Donald J. Trump
(Palm Beach, FL) — “The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed."
“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations."
“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”
With all due respect, the Palestinians have been, all along, in a very poor, and unequal bargaining position. Hitler killed my father, but I do not abuse other people because of it, and neither should the Israelis. In my opinion, Israel is maintaining the largest concentration camp in history, called the territories of the occupied Palestinian people.
As a taxpayer I am not too happy that our US Government sponsors, with our tax money, this oppressive regime; let us remember two wrongs do not make a right. All the while the Israelis cry about what Nazi-Germany did to them, they are not acting much better; people are dying as a direct result of their cruel blockade, and imposed restrictions, of many kind.
For me to support Israel, they must show first a sign of humanity, and stop stealing more land from the Palestinian people, and return the stolen property to their rightful owners. They whole world sees Israel for what it really is, but our US Government has been turning a blind eye for a very long time. Just because occupied people resist in a token way; we should condemn their resistance against the oppressor? I am certain, if anyone would occupy your home by force, you would certainly fight back, in any way, you can, and so would I.
I do not care too much for our current Government, but to allow this resolution to pass was the right thing to do, and was long overdue. We Americans pride ourselves in our ability to own property, and defend what belongs to us, against anyone bent on taking what is ours. Likewise, we must respect other people’s property rights the same way we expect ours to be respected and protected.
Regards,
Frank J. Maier
Dear Mr. President-Elect,
You recently made the following statement, which is quoted below.
Statement from President-Elect Donald J. Trump
(Palm Beach, FL) — “The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed."
“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations."
“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”
With all due respect, the Palestinians have been, all along, in a very poor, and unequal bargaining position. Hitler killed my father, but I do not abuse other people because of it, and neither should the Israelis. In my opinion, Israel is maintaining the largest concentration camp in history, called the territories of the occupied Palestinian people.
As a taxpayer I am not too happy that our US Government sponsors, with our tax money, this oppressive regime; let us remember two wrongs do not make a right. All the while the Israelis cry about what Nazi-Germany did to them, they are not acting much better; people are dying as a direct result of their cruel blockade, and imposed restrictions, of many kind.
For me to support Israel, they must show first a sign of humanity, and stop stealing more land from the Palestinian people, and return the stolen property to their rightful owners. They whole world sees Israel for what it really is, but our US Government has been turning a blind eye for a very long time. Just because occupied people resist in a token way; we should condemn their resistance against the oppressor? I am certain, if anyone would occupy your home by force, you would certainly fight back, in any way, you can, and so would I.
I do not care too much for our current Government, but to allow this resolution to pass was the right thing to do, and was long overdue. We Americans pride ourselves in our ability to own property, and defend what belongs to us, against anyone bent on taking what is ours. Likewise, we must respect other people’s property rights the same way we expect ours to be respected and protected.
Regards,
Frank J. Maier
Monday, December 19, 2016
Communication With President-Elect Trump
Dear Pesident-Elect,
I am writing to you this open letter, which will be published, in my Blog,
http://frankjm-socialconcerns.blogspot.com/
Today I received my annual letter from the Social Security, informing me that my "...benefits will increase by 0.3% in 2017 because of the rise in the cost of living." What kind of a choke is that? On which planet did the cost of living increase by only 0.3%? To make this letter even more ridiculous, the 0.3% increase was totally consumed by an increase in my Medicare premium, which is deducted from my Social Security payment. As a net result, I go exactly zero (0) increase from my current 2016 payment, for 2017. In other words, my monthly payment for 2017 will be the same as it is for 2016. Our Social Security program would not be in such a bad shape had the Federal Government not robbed the fund over a period of many years, leaving only ‘IOU’s’ behind, with no intention to ever repay the debt to us, the people who paid those FICA taxes, with every reduced pay check.
I would like to see the rich live on such a ridiculous low monthly income; they probably spend more for one family dinner, in a fancy restaurant, then we have to live on for the whole month. It is my sincere hope that you will correct this gross injustice; America will never be great again, until folks like me, get their fair share of return for all the social security taxes, we were forced to pay, all our working lives.
There is talk right now that somebody is already planning to screw the people some more relative to the future social security payments. If the Government wants to see people rioting in the streets without end, then just continue this trend of treating the working class this way. It is the working class that enables the rich to get richer; it is they who build their homes, hotels, casinos, factories, golf courses, etc, etc.
I am sure I do not have to tell you that the rich increased their incomes/wealth by a factor of 1000, while the working class is going in the wrong direction. Working people are now earning, in real income/purchasing power, less then they were earning in the sixties. Please refer to
http://inequality.org/income-inequality/ for a better visual of what I am talking about.
Let us see after you occupy the Oval Office, if you are really with us; show us some positive changes for the working and retired people, for a change. Obama is an easy act to follow, because he did nothing in this area of may concern. Yes, I wrote to him about this particular issue, and many others for that matter and I am sure so have others; I was simply ignored.
When America was great, retired folks earned decent interest on their savings, to augment their Social Security, and pension incomes, and yes they were part of the economic force that made America great. While I appreciate you giving corporations a major tax break to induce them to invest in America, let us not forget, the major economic force is not the large corporation, but the many small businesses, who employ the majority of American workers. Having said that, I do acknowledge the importance of large scale manufacturing, as being a necessary part of the job creation equation. In the end, it takes consumers, with money, to create demand for manufactured goods. When people barely can afford to eat cheap and fattening food, perhaps only one pair of jeans, then the economic engine is severely sputtering, at best. It takes every American to make this work. When we deprive the population of just wages, then with what money are they buying the essentials of life, and spend money on manufactured items, to ensure large factories are save places to work for, helping to raise the next generation of worker bees, so to speak. Let us not kill the Goose that laid the golden egg.
Thank you,
Frank Maier
I am writing to you this open letter, which will be published, in my Blog,
http://frankjm-socialconcerns.blogspot.com/
Today I received my annual letter from the Social Security, informing me that my "...benefits will increase by 0.3% in 2017 because of the rise in the cost of living." What kind of a choke is that? On which planet did the cost of living increase by only 0.3%? To make this letter even more ridiculous, the 0.3% increase was totally consumed by an increase in my Medicare premium, which is deducted from my Social Security payment. As a net result, I go exactly zero (0) increase from my current 2016 payment, for 2017. In other words, my monthly payment for 2017 will be the same as it is for 2016. Our Social Security program would not be in such a bad shape had the Federal Government not robbed the fund over a period of many years, leaving only ‘IOU’s’ behind, with no intention to ever repay the debt to us, the people who paid those FICA taxes, with every reduced pay check.
I would like to see the rich live on such a ridiculous low monthly income; they probably spend more for one family dinner, in a fancy restaurant, then we have to live on for the whole month. It is my sincere hope that you will correct this gross injustice; America will never be great again, until folks like me, get their fair share of return for all the social security taxes, we were forced to pay, all our working lives.
There is talk right now that somebody is already planning to screw the people some more relative to the future social security payments. If the Government wants to see people rioting in the streets without end, then just continue this trend of treating the working class this way. It is the working class that enables the rich to get richer; it is they who build their homes, hotels, casinos, factories, golf courses, etc, etc.
I am sure I do not have to tell you that the rich increased their incomes/wealth by a factor of 1000, while the working class is going in the wrong direction. Working people are now earning, in real income/purchasing power, less then they were earning in the sixties. Please refer to
http://inequality.org/income-inequality/ for a better visual of what I am talking about.
Let us see after you occupy the Oval Office, if you are really with us; show us some positive changes for the working and retired people, for a change. Obama is an easy act to follow, because he did nothing in this area of may concern. Yes, I wrote to him about this particular issue, and many others for that matter and I am sure so have others; I was simply ignored.
When America was great, retired folks earned decent interest on their savings, to augment their Social Security, and pension incomes, and yes they were part of the economic force that made America great. While I appreciate you giving corporations a major tax break to induce them to invest in America, let us not forget, the major economic force is not the large corporation, but the many small businesses, who employ the majority of American workers. Having said that, I do acknowledge the importance of large scale manufacturing, as being a necessary part of the job creation equation. In the end, it takes consumers, with money, to create demand for manufactured goods. When people barely can afford to eat cheap and fattening food, perhaps only one pair of jeans, then the economic engine is severely sputtering, at best. It takes every American to make this work. When we deprive the population of just wages, then with what money are they buying the essentials of life, and spend money on manufactured items, to ensure large factories are save places to work for, helping to raise the next generation of worker bees, so to speak. Let us not kill the Goose that laid the golden egg.
Thank you,
Frank Maier
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Communication with Pesident Obama - January 2014
Below find a typical message (one of many between 2011 and 2014) posted on the White House site in 2014, trying to get justice for people who try to augment their retirement income with interest from their savings accounts. Towards the end read the response from President Obama; he either did not read my message, or did not understand it; he never addressed my concern, hence nothing was promised, and nothing was done. This was the standard outcome of every issue I brought to his attention; many times I did not even get a response. I used to like this guy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Maier
Mon 1/20/2014, 3:43 PMFrank Maier (monfranz2@yahoo.com)
The following was sent to the President, on the requested site:
"Dear Mr. President,
How can we in a free society be indirectly forced to give our money to banks, for literally no interest to speak of, while banks, like Bank of America, post the biggest profits in their history? Please see the quote below, by BA's Bruce Thompson.
"We enter this year with one of the strongest balance sheets in our company's history," said the bank's chief financial officer, Bruce Thompson."
The Government is clearly on the side of the banks, against the fairness, which demands reasonable returns for our deposits. The stock market is way too volatile, and therefore, the banks are the only other option. Inflation is much higher than the little interest we earn. If you think that this situation is just, then you have a distorted view of moral decency; I hope, this does not apply to you. This situation needs to be addressed by the Government, because we, the people, are here in an unequal bargaining position.
The banks hit the little guys very hard, through fraud, etc., and nobody went to jail that I know of, and the banks are defrauding the public still to this day, by taking our money for next to nothing, and charging high interest rates and fees to those who take out loans.
If we would put more interest earnings into the hands of account holders, instead of allowing the current situation, then our economy would recover faster, because more spending money would be available to the consumers. It is that simple.
I need to hear from you.
Thank you,
Frank Maier"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The White House Auto-Response Message
Wed 9/18/2013, 3:50 PM
The White House Washington
Dear Frank:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I have heard from many Americans who are worried about the future of their retirement savings, and I appreciate your perspective.
Retiring with dignity is a promise we must keep to all Americans, and I am working hard to strengthen our retirement system. That is why I am committed to protecting Social Security and addressing Americans’ concerns. Social Security cannot be subjected to risky privatization plans because the future of hard-working Americans should not be left to the fluctuations of financial markets.
To better secure their retirement and prepare for unforeseen circumstances, Americans must also save for their future in other ways. We are laying the foundation for all individuals to participate in workplace retirement accounts. Employees would be automatically enrolled in pension plans and could opt out if they choose. Simple and automatic enrollment makes it easier for people to plan for retirement. This would assist the 75 million working Americans—about half the workforce—who lack access to retirement plans through their employers. Please join me online to learn more at www.WhiteHouse.gov/Issues/Seniors-And-Social-Security.
Thank you, again, for writing.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Maier
Mon 1/20/2014, 3:43 PMFrank Maier (monfranz2@yahoo.com)
The following was sent to the President, on the requested site:
"Dear Mr. President,
How can we in a free society be indirectly forced to give our money to banks, for literally no interest to speak of, while banks, like Bank of America, post the biggest profits in their history? Please see the quote below, by BA's Bruce Thompson.
"We enter this year with one of the strongest balance sheets in our company's history," said the bank's chief financial officer, Bruce Thompson."
The Government is clearly on the side of the banks, against the fairness, which demands reasonable returns for our deposits. The stock market is way too volatile, and therefore, the banks are the only other option. Inflation is much higher than the little interest we earn. If you think that this situation is just, then you have a distorted view of moral decency; I hope, this does not apply to you. This situation needs to be addressed by the Government, because we, the people, are here in an unequal bargaining position.
The banks hit the little guys very hard, through fraud, etc., and nobody went to jail that I know of, and the banks are defrauding the public still to this day, by taking our money for next to nothing, and charging high interest rates and fees to those who take out loans.
If we would put more interest earnings into the hands of account holders, instead of allowing the current situation, then our economy would recover faster, because more spending money would be available to the consumers. It is that simple.
I need to hear from you.
Thank you,
Frank Maier"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The White House Auto-Response Message
Wed 9/18/2013, 3:50 PM
The White House Washington
Dear Frank:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I have heard from many Americans who are worried about the future of their retirement savings, and I appreciate your perspective.
Retiring with dignity is a promise we must keep to all Americans, and I am working hard to strengthen our retirement system. That is why I am committed to protecting Social Security and addressing Americans’ concerns. Social Security cannot be subjected to risky privatization plans because the future of hard-working Americans should not be left to the fluctuations of financial markets.
To better secure their retirement and prepare for unforeseen circumstances, Americans must also save for their future in other ways. We are laying the foundation for all individuals to participate in workplace retirement accounts. Employees would be automatically enrolled in pension plans and could opt out if they choose. Simple and automatic enrollment makes it easier for people to plan for retirement. This would assist the 75 million working Americans—about half the workforce—who lack access to retirement plans through their employers. Please join me online to learn more at www.WhiteHouse.gov/Issues/Seniors-And-Social-Security.
Thank you, again, for writing.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Communication to President Trump-Elect
On the outset let me clarify, I am neither a hard core Republican, nor an entrenched Democrat, I am a middle of the road guy, who cares about society as a whole; I work for Social Justice, and fight injustice wherever I see it.
I have sent a number of suggestions to Trump on a variety of topics, in the hope somebody will read them and talk to Trump about it. All of it, shown below, was posted on his website, and acknowledged each time.
9-14-2016-Hi Kellyanne,
I have written to you before, on Aug. 20th, and I am compelled to write to you again. I am happy to see that Donald is now no longer relying to much on his website, but now gives detailed account of its content, i.e. his plans.
Obama while running for office, pledged to require that the Food Industry label GMO content on food packages/containers, so that consumers know what they are eating. As you know, he did absolutely nothing; he failed to keep his election promise.
Practically all civilized nations require the GMO labeling, but our Government sold us out to the Food Industry, by making this crucial labeling, a voluntary matter. Needless to say, nobody does identify GMO content. The GMO issue unites both Republicans and Democrats, as well as Independents, therefore, I think it would be a great opportunity to remind the voters of Obama's promise, which he did not keep, while pledging that a Trump President will enforce the labeling of GMO content in our food supply, and then really act on it once elected. Obama was right when he said the consumers have a right to know, unfortunately, it ended there.
I look forward to news accounts about Trump pledging to require the mandatory labeling of GMO, in the food supply.
Regards,
Frank
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11-9-2016-Dear President-Elect,
I watched the election results last night, and I must say I was very pleased with this outcome; there were times, when you had me worried. You did stay focused during the last month or so and mainly ignored the baits offered by Hillary and her gang (the spirit cookers). Quite frankly, I never thought I would actually spend so much of my time, writing to you and KellyAnne, urging you to stay focused, and filling in survey after survey from your Trump team.
This election thought me an important lesson, too many Democrats in office, past and present, are so only by name; in reality this click is one ugly group of people, who have no morals, and are totally consumed by everything that is, to use Hillary's words, deplorable. I am less worried now about a WW III, which would have been a real possibility under Clinton; her benefactors wanted a confrontation on a major scale, because in times of war, the rich, connected with the military complex, get richer.
Now, your administration must tackle a host of problems, all at once it seems, one of these must be the youth that is not following an academic path, either for lack of money, or lack of scholastic ability. These young people, part of our next generation of voters must not be ignored any longer. We must look at other countries, like Germany, and study how they solve this problem. We need an apprenticeship program, which binds the young person and the company contractually, for the duration of the apprenticeship.
A while ago, I posted, on the Government site, a note to President Obama and VP Biden about our out-of-control gun violence; sadly I had no response. While I agree with removing military style weapons from our streets, it does not eliminate the root cause. We must address also the lack of opportunities for our future generation. We need to create a system that gives every young person a path to success, enhancing his or her self-esteem. We need not only opportunities for higher learning, but also apprenticeships, of all kinds, for those who are not academically inclined. Our industries must cooperate in such an effort, to make it work. In addition, we must provide job opportunities to all that finished their education, either academic or vocational.
Young people do not kill others when they are proud of themselves and their accomplishments. To that end, we must also enact a federal requirement that requires all schools to establish a program aimed at eliminating the bullying, of fellow students, of any kind. Our new First Lady indicated her desires to work this problem, and perhaps she may also be interested in my proposed apprenticeship program; we need someone like her to be the point person. Young people have become crueler than ever; video games and movies have corrupted the minds and souls of them; we have to reverse this horrible trend. When I was young, many years ago, I never heard of a child being driven to suicide. What has become of us?
A number of years ago, I had written a letter to then Secretary of Labor Reich, addressing the gang violence. Nothing ever came of it either, matters just got worse.
I am ready to help our new First Lady! I am a product of the German apprenticeship program, and I know how it works. My background can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
I am a retired ASQ certified Quality Engineer, as well as a SME certified Manufacturing Engineer. I represented Canada at the first NATO conference on Quality Assurance, held in 1973 at Munich Germany.
I am a US citizen. I want to help you in any way I can, to make our nation a safer, and a happier place, where people, once more, feel good about themselves, and each other.
Regards,
Frank
monfranz@msn.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/22/16 GMO, and the following was posted
Mr. President Trump,
Please ensure that any future healthcare plan, for the elder, includes adequate dental care coverage as well. As you know, lack of dental health often affects other parts of the body, and can contribute to major health issues. To bring down the healthcare cost of our country, the only viable solution is the prevention of major health problems.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11—25-2016
Dear President-Elect, It is totally unfair the people earn next to nothing with their savings accounts. When I was young, working for several banks, in Canada, the difference between what the bank charged for a loan, and what it paid to the savings account holder was 0.5%. Now the savings account holder gets from 0,01% to 0.06%, while interest on mortgages are at best 3.5%. Consumer loans, by banks, demand an average interest rate of 13.8%. The elderly who depend on these interest payment get the big shaft. If you want America great again, stop the banks from screwing the people. I have written similar to Obama, with no results; show us that you mean business, and truly represent, the working class, and the elderly, who in many cases, have to choose between eating or buying their medicines.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/30/16
Posted on Trumps Gov. site my article shown on my blog regarding entitlements
12/1/2016
Mr. President-Elect, We can make America great again only when our leader (you) walks the talk. Here is a quote of what you stated during your campaign, ""I'm not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican, and I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid," he said in a May 2015 interview, which is still featured on his campaign website." Taken from the NBC news site 12/1/16. I refer you to my previous post on this subject. I urge you to keep your many promises, which you usually ended with "Trust Me", well show us that we can trust you; so far the signals you sent, with some of the people you pick for your team, makes me wonder. You said, you will drain the swamp, so far there is little evidence of that; show us some proof, please.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/4/16
Dear President-Elect, I think your Secretary of State must be non other than Tulsi Gabbard, for the following reasons: 1) She is very much aligned with your thinking about this past nation building, which kept us in the poor house, and reduced our standing in the eyes of the world; 2) she is a very smart lady (I talked to Tulsi when I met her on the Big Island of Hawaii); 3) Like you, she had no use for Hillary and her policies; 4) she is a woman; 5) she is a Democrat, which will prove that you will bring the nation together. There is no other candidate that will provide you with so much credit for acting in an intelligent, non-partisan, nor nepotistic way. As always, glad to be of service. Frank
I have sent a number of suggestions to Trump on a variety of topics, in the hope somebody will read them and talk to Trump about it. All of it, shown below, was posted on his website, and acknowledged each time.
9-14-2016-Hi Kellyanne,
I have written to you before, on Aug. 20th, and I am compelled to write to you again. I am happy to see that Donald is now no longer relying to much on his website, but now gives detailed account of its content, i.e. his plans.
Obama while running for office, pledged to require that the Food Industry label GMO content on food packages/containers, so that consumers know what they are eating. As you know, he did absolutely nothing; he failed to keep his election promise.
Practically all civilized nations require the GMO labeling, but our Government sold us out to the Food Industry, by making this crucial labeling, a voluntary matter. Needless to say, nobody does identify GMO content. The GMO issue unites both Republicans and Democrats, as well as Independents, therefore, I think it would be a great opportunity to remind the voters of Obama's promise, which he did not keep, while pledging that a Trump President will enforce the labeling of GMO content in our food supply, and then really act on it once elected. Obama was right when he said the consumers have a right to know, unfortunately, it ended there.
I look forward to news accounts about Trump pledging to require the mandatory labeling of GMO, in the food supply.
Regards,
Frank
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11-9-2016-Dear President-Elect,
I watched the election results last night, and I must say I was very pleased with this outcome; there were times, when you had me worried. You did stay focused during the last month or so and mainly ignored the baits offered by Hillary and her gang (the spirit cookers). Quite frankly, I never thought I would actually spend so much of my time, writing to you and KellyAnne, urging you to stay focused, and filling in survey after survey from your Trump team.
This election thought me an important lesson, too many Democrats in office, past and present, are so only by name; in reality this click is one ugly group of people, who have no morals, and are totally consumed by everything that is, to use Hillary's words, deplorable. I am less worried now about a WW III, which would have been a real possibility under Clinton; her benefactors wanted a confrontation on a major scale, because in times of war, the rich, connected with the military complex, get richer.
Now, your administration must tackle a host of problems, all at once it seems, one of these must be the youth that is not following an academic path, either for lack of money, or lack of scholastic ability. These young people, part of our next generation of voters must not be ignored any longer. We must look at other countries, like Germany, and study how they solve this problem. We need an apprenticeship program, which binds the young person and the company contractually, for the duration of the apprenticeship.
A while ago, I posted, on the Government site, a note to President Obama and VP Biden about our out-of-control gun violence; sadly I had no response. While I agree with removing military style weapons from our streets, it does not eliminate the root cause. We must address also the lack of opportunities for our future generation. We need to create a system that gives every young person a path to success, enhancing his or her self-esteem. We need not only opportunities for higher learning, but also apprenticeships, of all kinds, for those who are not academically inclined. Our industries must cooperate in such an effort, to make it work. In addition, we must provide job opportunities to all that finished their education, either academic or vocational.
Young people do not kill others when they are proud of themselves and their accomplishments. To that end, we must also enact a federal requirement that requires all schools to establish a program aimed at eliminating the bullying, of fellow students, of any kind. Our new First Lady indicated her desires to work this problem, and perhaps she may also be interested in my proposed apprenticeship program; we need someone like her to be the point person. Young people have become crueler than ever; video games and movies have corrupted the minds and souls of them; we have to reverse this horrible trend. When I was young, many years ago, I never heard of a child being driven to suicide. What has become of us?
A number of years ago, I had written a letter to then Secretary of Labor Reich, addressing the gang violence. Nothing ever came of it either, matters just got worse.
I am ready to help our new First Lady! I am a product of the German apprenticeship program, and I know how it works. My background can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
I am a retired ASQ certified Quality Engineer, as well as a SME certified Manufacturing Engineer. I represented Canada at the first NATO conference on Quality Assurance, held in 1973 at Munich Germany.
I am a US citizen. I want to help you in any way I can, to make our nation a safer, and a happier place, where people, once more, feel good about themselves, and each other.
Regards,
Frank
monfranz@msn.com
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11/22/16 GMO, and the following was posted
Mr. President Trump,
Please ensure that any future healthcare plan, for the elder, includes adequate dental care coverage as well. As you know, lack of dental health often affects other parts of the body, and can contribute to major health issues. To bring down the healthcare cost of our country, the only viable solution is the prevention of major health problems.
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11—25-2016
Dear President-Elect, It is totally unfair the people earn next to nothing with their savings accounts. When I was young, working for several banks, in Canada, the difference between what the bank charged for a loan, and what it paid to the savings account holder was 0.5%. Now the savings account holder gets from 0,01% to 0.06%, while interest on mortgages are at best 3.5%. Consumer loans, by banks, demand an average interest rate of 13.8%. The elderly who depend on these interest payment get the big shaft. If you want America great again, stop the banks from screwing the people. I have written similar to Obama, with no results; show us that you mean business, and truly represent, the working class, and the elderly, who in many cases, have to choose between eating or buying their medicines.
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11/30/16
Posted on Trumps Gov. site my article shown on my blog regarding entitlements
12/1/2016
Mr. President-Elect, We can make America great again only when our leader (you) walks the talk. Here is a quote of what you stated during your campaign, ""I'm not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican, and I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid," he said in a May 2015 interview, which is still featured on his campaign website." Taken from the NBC news site 12/1/16. I refer you to my previous post on this subject. I urge you to keep your many promises, which you usually ended with "Trust Me", well show us that we can trust you; so far the signals you sent, with some of the people you pick for your team, makes me wonder. You said, you will drain the swamp, so far there is little evidence of that; show us some proof, please.
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12/4/16
Dear President-Elect, I think your Secretary of State must be non other than Tulsi Gabbard, for the following reasons: 1) She is very much aligned with your thinking about this past nation building, which kept us in the poor house, and reduced our standing in the eyes of the world; 2) she is a very smart lady (I talked to Tulsi when I met her on the Big Island of Hawaii); 3) Like you, she had no use for Hillary and her policies; 4) she is a woman; 5) she is a Democrat, which will prove that you will bring the nation together. There is no other candidate that will provide you with so much credit for acting in an intelligent, non-partisan, nor nepotistic way. As always, glad to be of service. Frank
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Open Letter Sent To Vice-President Biden (via post on White House website)
Dear Vice-President,
A while ago I wrote an email to the President about our out-of-control gun violence. While I agree with removing military style weapons from our streets, it does not eliminate the root cause. We must address also the lack of opportunities for our future generation. We need to create a system that gives every young person a path to success, enhancing his or her self-esteem. We need not only opportunities for higher learning, but also apprenticeships, of all kinds, for those who are not academically inclined. Our industries must cooperate in such an effort, to make it work.
We must provide job opportunities to all that finished their education, either academic or vocational.
Young people do not kill others when they are proud of themselves and their accomplishments. To that end, we must also enact a federal requirement that requires all schools to establish a program aimed at eliminating the bullying, of any kind, of fellow students. Young people have become crueler than ever; video games and movies have corrupted the minds and souls of them; we have to reverse this horrible trend. When I was young, many years ago, I never heard of a child being driven to suicide. What has become of us?
A number of years ago, I had written a letter to then Secretary of Labor Reich, addressing the gang violence. Nothing ever came of it, matters just got worse.
I am ready to help! I am a product of the German apprenticeship program, and I know how it works. My background can be found at FrankMaier.homestead.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
I am an ASQ certified Quality Engineer, as well as a SME certified Manufacturing Engineer. I represented Canada at the first NATO conference on Quality Assurance, held in 1973 at Munich Germany.
I am a US citizen. I want to help you in any way I can, to make our nation a safer, and a happier place, where people, once more, feel good about themselves, and each other.
Regards,
Frank
monfranz@msn.com
A while ago I wrote an email to the President about our out-of-control gun violence. While I agree with removing military style weapons from our streets, it does not eliminate the root cause. We must address also the lack of opportunities for our future generation. We need to create a system that gives every young person a path to success, enhancing his or her self-esteem. We need not only opportunities for higher learning, but also apprenticeships, of all kinds, for those who are not academically inclined. Our industries must cooperate in such an effort, to make it work.
We must provide job opportunities to all that finished their education, either academic or vocational.
Young people do not kill others when they are proud of themselves and their accomplishments. To that end, we must also enact a federal requirement that requires all schools to establish a program aimed at eliminating the bullying, of any kind, of fellow students. Young people have become crueler than ever; video games and movies have corrupted the minds and souls of them; we have to reverse this horrible trend. When I was young, many years ago, I never heard of a child being driven to suicide. What has become of us?
A number of years ago, I had written a letter to then Secretary of Labor Reich, addressing the gang violence. Nothing ever came of it, matters just got worse.
I am ready to help! I am a product of the German apprenticeship program, and I know how it works. My background can be found at FrankMaier.homestead.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-maier-70637a32
I am an ASQ certified Quality Engineer, as well as a SME certified Manufacturing Engineer. I represented Canada at the first NATO conference on Quality Assurance, held in 1973 at Munich Germany.
I am a US citizen. I want to help you in any way I can, to make our nation a safer, and a happier place, where people, once more, feel good about themselves, and each other.
Regards,
Frank
monfranz@msn.com
Monday, October 15, 2012
Make Sure Our Voice Is Heard
It is now public knowledge that both Mayor Kenoi and candidate Kim are in favour of the environmentally harmful Gasification process, to deal with solid waste, according to their recent debate statements. It is therefore extremely important that we give our support to Sonny Shimaoka, who is against this course of action; he will oppose Gasification of our trash.
The answer to handling our trash is not Gasification, but solid waste sorting and recycling, and turning green waste into compost and mulch. Some years ago, then mayor Kim built a 9 million dollars trash sorting station (so far a white Elephant), in the Hilo area, which stands idle for years already; let them use it finally for the purpose intended.
Please use the social media at your disposal, and communicate with all you know; we need a voice that opposes polluting our air and waters, for the sake of making big money, by building another white Elephant, which will be a financial disaster in the end. HELCO is already proposing a rate hike to help finance this disastrous project, which will in the end cost a lot more than the current $500 million estimated. Again they will then hike the rate to make up for their shortfall.
Support your community by supporting Sonny Shimaoka!
Thanks
The answer to handling our trash is not Gasification, but solid waste sorting and recycling, and turning green waste into compost and mulch. Some years ago, then mayor Kim built a 9 million dollars trash sorting station (so far a white Elephant), in the Hilo area, which stands idle for years already; let them use it finally for the purpose intended.
Please use the social media at your disposal, and communicate with all you know; we need a voice that opposes polluting our air and waters, for the sake of making big money, by building another white Elephant, which will be a financial disaster in the end. HELCO is already proposing a rate hike to help finance this disastrous project, which will in the end cost a lot more than the current $500 million estimated. Again they will then hike the rate to make up for their shortfall.
Support your community by supporting Sonny Shimaoka!
Thanks
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Wakeup America!
Our politicians consider our Social Security payments as an entitlement, making it sound as if it were a gift from the Government, which they can reduce or eliminate at will. Nothing could be further from reality. Our social security payments are the contractual repayments, by installments, of money we have advanced, interest free, over many years, in fact a working lifetime, to the Government. The Government has borrowed from this fund, repeatedly, interest free, over many decades, and has never repaid this debt. The Government’s debt to this fund is well over two trillion dollars.
Why this great urgency to plan unilateral changes now? The Government has already spent all of the surplus Old Age and Security Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance ( DI) taxes collected, and has evidently no intention to repay this debt. If the Government were to meet their legal obligation of repayment of their debt, the fund could meet its obligation until about 2042. And, if corporations were not rewarded for exporting the jobs of the American worker, more people would support the OASI and DI funds through their payroll deductions for these funds, and thus these funds would be viable beyond the 75 year horizon. Moreover, the wages of the American worker have been kept very low over the years, and even reduced in some cases, thus reducing the sum of money collected by the Government, again working against the viability of these funds.
Why is the American worker’s wage compared to workers of other countries, who do not have to live with high living expenses, as we do in the USA, including the highest medical expenses in the world? The American worker is made to feel guilty for demanding a living wage; why is this so? These unsociable giant American corporations are not satisfied with raping, and abusing foreign workers in other countries, they are now importing their inhuman practices to the USA, and if the American worker refuses to step back to the middle ages, they employ their Government patsies, whom they have bought before, to bring the American worker to his or her knees. Already State Governments are eliminating the rights of workers, in accordance with the wishes of their masters, the money donors to their political careers.
We, the people, were given no choice, we are taxed, by force, to pay into these funds specifically, and now they want to reduce our contractual entitlement, and change the contract unilaterally. Unlike Canada, who do provide Old Age Security payments to their citizens, without having taxed them expressly for it, we, here in the USA, bought our benefit payments with our tax dollars, specifically for that purpose. Now if the Canadian Government, for example, wished to change the Old Age Security formula, it would be understandable, because it really is a kind of a gift from their Government. Canada has a separate coordinated pension system, to which workers contribute with payroll deductions, and nobody messes with that, and neither must the US Government mess with our paid for OASI, and DI benefits. In fact, September 2011 the President proposed to cut Medicare by nearly 250 billion dollars, an attack on the most vulnerable, the aged, who supported the country all their lives.
How long will it be before we all realize that we are abused by our Government and their benefactors? Other nations took forty years or so to understand that they, the people, were had; how much longer do we need to get the message? Wakeup America! Most of us think, if we go and participate in elections every so often, we did our duty. Wrong! All we did is legitimize the frauds in office, at any level, to abuse us some more. Let us look at the recent bailouts of the financial institutions. The Government took our tax money (money from the victims) to bail out the crooks on Wall Street and anywhere else from where they operate. They did not bail out any of the homeowners, who made an honest mistake to buy a home they could not afford, simple because they were told, by the financial industry, that they could. Nobody went to jail, while the ordinary citizen lost his job, his home, including his or her self-esteem. The masses were blamed for their engineered economic disaster, which helped to transfer the assets of ordinary people to the crooks in the financial industry.
The homeowners affected, for the most part, are still in trouble, and have lost everything, simply because they were not too big to fail. The financial crooks are all doing well again, and pay themselves large salaries, and super large bonuses. Our Government has, in essence, rewarded these criminals with our tax money. As stated earlier nobody went to jail, because of this massive fraud. All of a sudden they feel that our retired citizens have it too good, and can well afford to have their contractual benefits slashed. After all, we have the world’s best Government money can buy, and did these crooks buy our Government, and stole our democracy in the process. To rescue and protect our democracy we must do more than just vote these characters into office, we must keep them honest, by watching every move they make, and set them straight, when the veer off course.
We are renown, around the world, as a people, who are dumb, fat, and happy. Well, we are not dumb, we may be a little overweight and we sure as hell should not be happy. What are we to do? For one, let your representative know that if he or she votes for taking away our right to receive our money back in retirement, they may as well resign now, because we will recall them, and surely not vote for them again.
"No taxation without representation" was the cry during the years between 1750 and 1760, and spawned ultimately the American Revolution. Well, we are at this stage again; we are taxed without representation. Our Government has sold out to special interest groups, who send their agents (read Lobbyists) to Washington to buy favors from our representatives sitting in Congress, Senate and the White House. If you are in doubt about that, just look at those who got bailed out recently, it was not people like you and me, that is for sure.
We can use the Social Media to educate our friends and neighbors, and to email or call our representatives, and let them know that we are mad, and we will not tolerate abuse anymore.
It’s OK to use these media for all the fun things we seem to enjoy, however, these tools are giving us also the power of serious communications. Our national elections are just around the corner, now is the time to turn the tables and put pressure on those who wish to represent us, while filling their pockets. Let them know where you stand. Once they are back again in the saddle, they can do a lot of more damage, by eliminating, or cutting down our legal rights. Do not let them do this to us, and our children! Use the Social Media (and email) to give a wakeup call to your relatives, friends, neighbors, and your representatives.
Facts on the Social Security Fund: (http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html) - A SUMMARY OF THE 2011 ANNUAL REPORTS
Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
From Wikipedia: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund
“The trust funds run surpluses in that the amount paid in by current workers is more than the amount paid out to current beneficiaries. These surpluses are given to the U.S. Treasury (and thus become part of the general federal budget) in exchange for special U.S. government securities, which are deposited into the trust funds. If the trust funds begin running deficits, meaning more in benefits are paid out than contributions paid in, the Social Security Administration is empowered to redeem the securities and use those funds to cover the deficit.”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation.
Entitlement - right granted by law or contract (especially a right to benefits); "entitlements make up the major part of the federal budget" (thefreedictinary.com)
Entitled - qualified for by right according to law; "we are all entitled to equal protection under the law"
Monday, August 6, 2012
Extremely Concerned Again
Since my written questions on the following (submitted, at the Aug. 4th candidate meeting), never saw the light of day, in open forum, I appreciate you reading my opinion here.
Margaret Wille, candidate for Councilperson, district 9, in her article in the KMN of July 28, 2012, stated, "I will work to dispose of our solid waste in ways that turn this waste stream into a revenue-generating asset." I called her the morning of July 30, 2012, to inquire how she would accomplish that; here is what I learned. This candidate wants to consider 'Waste Gasification', etc., despite the fact that she is well aware that our community was 100% against such a project. At the time of our struggle against 'Waste Gasification', I invited her to join our cause; she never did. Not joining our community then is clear now; she considers this harmful process as a possible option to serve her money-generating goal.
Her confessed desire is to make money for the county. She writes, "I will focus on ways to increase the revenue streams available to our County." She also states, "I have been involved in many County issues over the past six years: working closely with the current Councilperson Pete Hoffman, studying the issues….” This candidate, like Pete Hoffman, is on the wrong side of this issue. My records show, Pete Hoffman was not on the side of the community. This candidate painted herself as an understudy to Pete Hoffman, not a good thing considering the foregoing. This candidate also portrays herself as an insider, which she clearly is. The last thing we need is another insider. Strangely, this candidate is not talking about liberating existing funds through bureaucratic waste reduction; she may seek income through harmful trash processing, etc.
This candidate pledges to resolve “…multi-dimensional issues such as how to increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for Hawaii physicians.” The medical industry is already bankrupting many of our families, and, to an extent, our country (http://www.businesspundit.com/us-healthcare-vs-the-rest-of-the-world/). Our medical costs are one of the highest in the world, yet estimates show that 200,000 Americans die, every year, because of medical errors (http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/opinion/gupta-medical-mistakes/index.html?iref=allsearch). Do we need to give them more money to speed up our economic death, as well? I think not. To champion this cause, for this special interest group, only adds to our already high tax burden.
From her writing, it is obvious; this candidate is not for our community. No mention, in her article, of making our lives more safe and enjoyable; it is all about raising money for the County, apparently without consideration of the environment. This candidate never stated what the County should do with all the money she wants to raise.
The full-page ad in the KMN, page 20, “Paid for by Friends to Elect Margaret Wille”, should raise a flag, who are these friends? Let us consider a person, who is truly for all the people, and not on the side of bureaucrats, or perhaps beholden to special interest groups. Let us elect an ‘Outsider’ to represent truly our interests, and not that of the existing establishment. If you care about a save and healthy environment, in which to live, and raise your children without the threat of another harmful process proposal, and have no urge to increase County revenues, then you must elect another more suitable candidate. Let us not repeat history! Mahalo,
Frank J. Maier
http://against.homestead.com
http://frankjm-socialconcerns.blogspot.com/
Monday, February 27, 2012
OPEN LETTER TO PETER HO - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Hawaii
The following was emailed to Peter Ho on February 7, 2012, and was published in the Kohala Mountain News February 25, 2012. To-date no response was received.
"Dear Mr. Ho,
I worked in the fifties for major Canadian national banks; I know how crucial a local bank is to a community, and that is why I read the letter of January 27, 2012, announcing the closing of the Kohala branch, with sadness. Surely you appreciate, a bank is more than a business; it is also a community support system. This is especially true with our local seniors, many of whom are either unable or afraid to use online banking services, for various reasons. Trying to educate them in using online services will not work; for most elderly, learning is no longer easy or even possible. What about those people who have no computer to begin with? I fear it includes the majority of our seniors.
Reading about you, I found the following, “Peter Ho puts helping people high on desires - Honolulu Advertiser (Mar 21, 2010)”. Mr. Ho, this is your God given chance to live up to your desires, and to demonstrate that your service priorities are still in the right place. Closing the Kohala branch would be contrary to helping people, in my opinion. I know that Bank of Hawaii has an excellent financial record; I refuse to believe that your bank would abandon our seniors/community, who contributed so much to make your bank successful for 90 years. Closing this historic branch would appear ungrateful, and totally devoid of the ‘Aloha Spirit.
Our business community will also suffer; which business owners have the time to travel to Waimea, to accomplish their basic banking needs? Yes, we are in an economic slowdown, but as sure as, the sun will rise tomorrow, so will the business climate in our community. Signs of increased tourist trade are everywhere. A community without at least one local full-service bank is doomed to stagnate. This plan to close our local bank appears very shortsighted, and ignores the potential of our community; it throws in the towel in defeat. The closing of this branch signals to us that your bank has given up on our community. This is not the bank I know, and learned to respect in the aftermath of our national banking disaster.
I appreciate that there are compelling short-term business reasons why your bank came to this decision. However, when looking at the long-term, this decision will prove to be wrong, not only in the business sense, but also in the human sense. Taking away a community banking support from a struggling community, trying to rebuild itself appears to be an apathetic and calculated action. There are ways to make this work for the benefit of the bank and the community. For example, this branch does not require three bank clerks, excluding the Manager, and yet this is what I saw January 30, 2012, while making my deposit. We, I am sure, are willing to wait a little longer in-line to get service, if that, and other cost savings, like opening three days a week only, help to keep this branch open.
Keeping this branch open, for the sake of the community, is priceless marketing for your bank. When prospective customers, learn about this, they will be confident to bring their business to your bank. I implore you to exercise your executive power and veto this planned closure of our branch.
Respectfully,
Frank J. Maier"
"Dear Mr. Ho,
I worked in the fifties for major Canadian national banks; I know how crucial a local bank is to a community, and that is why I read the letter of January 27, 2012, announcing the closing of the Kohala branch, with sadness. Surely you appreciate, a bank is more than a business; it is also a community support system. This is especially true with our local seniors, many of whom are either unable or afraid to use online banking services, for various reasons. Trying to educate them in using online services will not work; for most elderly, learning is no longer easy or even possible. What about those people who have no computer to begin with? I fear it includes the majority of our seniors.
Reading about you, I found the following, “Peter Ho puts helping people high on desires - Honolulu Advertiser (Mar 21, 2010)”. Mr. Ho, this is your God given chance to live up to your desires, and to demonstrate that your service priorities are still in the right place. Closing the Kohala branch would be contrary to helping people, in my opinion. I know that Bank of Hawaii has an excellent financial record; I refuse to believe that your bank would abandon our seniors/community, who contributed so much to make your bank successful for 90 years. Closing this historic branch would appear ungrateful, and totally devoid of the ‘Aloha Spirit.
Our business community will also suffer; which business owners have the time to travel to Waimea, to accomplish their basic banking needs? Yes, we are in an economic slowdown, but as sure as, the sun will rise tomorrow, so will the business climate in our community. Signs of increased tourist trade are everywhere. A community without at least one local full-service bank is doomed to stagnate. This plan to close our local bank appears very shortsighted, and ignores the potential of our community; it throws in the towel in defeat. The closing of this branch signals to us that your bank has given up on our community. This is not the bank I know, and learned to respect in the aftermath of our national banking disaster.
I appreciate that there are compelling short-term business reasons why your bank came to this decision. However, when looking at the long-term, this decision will prove to be wrong, not only in the business sense, but also in the human sense. Taking away a community banking support from a struggling community, trying to rebuild itself appears to be an apathetic and calculated action. There are ways to make this work for the benefit of the bank and the community. For example, this branch does not require three bank clerks, excluding the Manager, and yet this is what I saw January 30, 2012, while making my deposit. We, I am sure, are willing to wait a little longer in-line to get service, if that, and other cost savings, like opening three days a week only, help to keep this branch open.
Keeping this branch open, for the sake of the community, is priceless marketing for your bank. When prospective customers, learn about this, they will be confident to bring their business to your bank. I implore you to exercise your executive power and veto this planned closure of our branch.
Respectfully,
Frank J. Maier"
Monday, August 1, 2011
Kohala Scenic Byway Meeting Notice
Please attend if you can; be educated, and make your wishes known. Evaluate the impact, if any, on our community.
Taken from http://gokohala.com/calendar.html, as a public service.
Taken from http://gokohala.com/calendar.html, as a public service.
"August 10 - 5:30pm
Kohala Scenic Byway Public Informational Meeting will be held at the Kohala Elementary and High School Cafeteria. In its first phase, Akoni Pule Highway has completed the task of being named Hawaii Scenic Byway Ke Ala ‘O Kohala – The Way of Kohala. The Highways Division recently approved the nomination prepared by the local committee. If accepted and approved, the proposed byway will run along Akoni Pule Highway, which will keep its name, from Honokoa Gulch near Kawaihae to Pololu Valley. Kohala’s multi-layered history will be the focus of the driving experience. Using the suggestions from the public meeting, the committee will write up the application for state designation of the byway which will include plans for a long-term local byways committee and a management plan to enhance the values chosen by Kohala people. All are welcome to attend to share ideas for decisions yet to be made. Sponsor for the Ke Ala ‘O Kohala byways project is the North Kohala Community Resource Center. For more information about the public meeting or the byways committee contact Scott Bedingfield at 896-9001 or Judy Rogers at 430-5689."
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
It Is Official
Bennett Dorrance has confirmed to me in writing, in an email dated July 5th, 2011, that "The lower Iole land is off the table as far as a location for the zero waste station, ..." Bennett a good member of our community has shown great sensitivity to the voice of his community, and I for one appreciate this very much. As a result of this, there will be no Zero Waste Park near and upwind from Ainakea homes.
I am 100% convinced I speak for all of you when I say, "Bennett thank you very much for your concern for the health and safety of our community, we are indeed very grateful".
In addition, I wish to thank the many residents who had the courage to stand by their conviction. Last but not least many thanks to the 'AGAINST' working group members.
I am 100% convinced I speak for all of you when I say, "Bennett thank you very much for your concern for the health and safety of our community, we are indeed very grateful".
In addition, I wish to thank the many residents who had the courage to stand by their conviction. Last but not least many thanks to the 'AGAINST' working group members.
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