Maximum Unemployment Through Minimum Wage (By Walter Sweeney)

I wrote this last year for a class that I was taking at the time.  I hope that you find it informative and interesting.  Enjoy!


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Minimum wage; its morality, its effect on the employment rates and its effect on the economy as a whole has always been a controversial issue since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program. The idea is that if employers pay a certain minimum amount to an employee in wages then the overall quality of life and economic stability of the country will increase. Many argue that minimum wage is just a set basic starting rate of income for new employees. Is that really how it works, though? Historically, there are many examples of the effects of minimum wage and there are more than a handful of modern statistics and cases that show how minimum wage effects the world we live in today. It has been proven that the opposite of minimum price laws (i.e. minimum wage) are not healthy for the economy. This has been shown through rent control and other such maximum price limits. Is it possible that minimum wage could be healthy? In retrospect it has been proven otherwise. Employers base the amount of money they will pay someone on the productivity they have witnessed by said employee. By setting a minimum wage the government requires employers to pay a certain hourly-based rate to their employees, regardless of their productivity level. Minimum wage should be abolished since it has been proven to be a serious contributing factor of high(er) unemployment -- which in turn hurts the economy -- because no employer is willing to pay someone for more work that could otherwise require less compensation.




In 1938, during the Great Depression, the United States Congress passed the Federal Labor Standards Act (FSLA). The act set the limit for the first ever minimum wage level in America protecting workers from borderline “inhumane” paychecks. Worker’s unions fought for the cause under the assumption that they would soon fall victim to further financial gaps between their paychecks and that of their employers, or at least that is what the unions who lobbied for it despite the fact that a union with members who receive minimum wage are rare, assuming such a union actually exists. “The FLSA introduced sweeping regulations to protect American workers from being exploited, and created a mandatory federal minimum wage of 25 cents an hour in order to maintain a minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being, without substantially curtailing employment” (minimum-wage.org). Since the FSLA was passed in 1938 congress has amended it multiple times, always increasing the minimum wage to eventually reach the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per-hour. There have been many studies concerning the effects of minimum wage over the 73 years it has existed. Most of the studies have shown, beyond any shadow of doubt, that when minimum wage is increased, there is a decrease in employment on an average of 10% increase causes 1% more unemployment (uva.edu). The reason the increase in unemployment is directly related to an increase in minimum wage is because every employer evaluates the productivity level of each of his or her employees in terms dollar per hours. If an employee is less productive than set the minimum wage, then there is no reason for that employer to keep that less productive employee on the pay roll. Additionally, requiring employers to pay a certain higher amount to their employees in wages, the profit margin for that business will decrease unless some workers are let go.



In the modern era of minimum wage, it is the unskilled laborers who suffer the most at the hands of minimum wage laws. Because of their over-representation on the lower end of the labor marker, it is adolescents and minorities who are the most negatively effected by minimum wage laws. This is ironic since that is the demographic that the FSLA is meant to assist. Some theorize that raising the minimum wage compels high school students to drop out of high school in order to take advantage of the newly increased wages, but if this were to happen, then those adolescents (unskilled labor) would be hard pressed to find a job since there are fewer jobs available (Hamrock, Caitlin, and Warren 1). Furthermore, in 1983, the US House of Representatives commissioned a study in which they discovered that minimum wage increases reduce the average earnings of teenaged workers. That is to say that if you look at a sampling of 20 adolescent workers who are each receiving $5/hr (average of $100/hr) but then 4 of them loose their jobs as a result of minimum wage of $2/hr, the overall average of the wages paid to those workers will decrease (new average of $90/hr). In the case of minorities, Ken Kersch writes, “The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a national minimum wage, might have played a significant role in the development of a black underclass” (gmu.edu). In August of 2011 there was a study that showed that, “Overall U.S. unemployment is 9.1 percent. For white adults, it's 8 percent, and for white teens, 23 percent. Black adult unemployment stands at 17 percent, and for black teens, it's 40 percent, more than 50 percent in some cities” (Williams). Again, this is an over-representation of this demographic as the teenaged African American community is far less than 40-50% of the overall workforce in this country.



While minimum wage laws are a form of minimum price control, there is such thing as a maximum price control. Rent control is a excellent example of this. Where minimum price controls create a surplus people looking for work, maximum price control causes a shortage of available housing. The graphs bellow (figure 1) demonstrates this phenomenon. At the intersection of the supply and demand curve is the equilibrium price for the respective economic goods of employees and housing. At that price, the market is cleared…anyone who wants a job has one and anyone who wants a house has one.

(Figure 1)



When the price of a good like employees or housing is artificially modified by an outside source like the government, there is either too much or too little of that good at the previous/equilibrium market price. What does this mean for unemployment? The surplus that is shown above the intersection of the supply and demand curves represents all those workers who are seeking employment, but cannot find it…there are more of them seeking work than there was previously. Whenever prices are altered, these shortages and surpluses occur, and they are always negative for the economy as a whole as the economy relies on equilibrium prices in order to remain stable and healthy.



There are those that argue in favor of maintaining minimum wages and, if at all possible, raising them even higher. The common argument is that it is worth the trade off of higher unemployment (particularly among teenagers and minorities) for overall higher wages for those who are employed. “Labor activists and liberals have actively pushed for a higher minimum wage, claiming that the minimum wage must also serve as an adequate living wage for all workers. The current minimum wage rate, they claim, is much too low to serve as a living wage in today's economy” (minimum-wage.org). Others will argue that the minimum wage is just a launching point and that workers will advance past the bare minimum quickly and it is only “fair” that everyone starts at the same place. Andrew Lustig writes that since the wage would increase for everyone (both employer and employee), no one will be adversely affected by minimum wages, since the cost of consumer goods raises relative to the price to employ workers and the workers get paid more so no one gets hurt (1).



The idea that minimum wage should behave as a base level “living wage” for all of American workers (minimum-wage.org) is a conclusion that has been come to with less than all the facts. Either that or it is the result of political posturing. In a June 1996 publication, Kevin Kelly points out that much of the minimum wage debate is nothing more than an “unfortunate side show” that serves the purpose of distracting from “far more substantive economic issues” (1). Kelly goes on to say that, “when you increase wages, employers will find some way to reduce the impact on their profits by getting rid of some workers” (1). Not only does Kelly show that increasing unemployment is inevitable when minimum wage is raised, but he also sites information from a Federal Reserve Board study which estimated that, in 1996, “a ninety-cent increase [in minimum wage] would reduce overall employment by 400,000 jobs, and that about half of those who lost their jobs would not find new [jobs]” (1). The assumption that minimum wage is merely a “starting point” for a new workers has also been disproven. In 2000 a Senior Economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC published a paper documenting that a “significant number of new workers stay at or near the minimum wage long after their initial foray into the labor market” (Schmidt 1). The actual data shows after a decade or more in the working world nearly 20% of employees who started off at minimum wage will spend more than half of their overall career within $1.50 of minimum wage (Schmitt 1). This study stood the pro-minimum wage activists on their head, as it totally invalidated their claims that minimum wage acts as an even starting point for first-time employees.



Not only do minimum wage laws hurt the individuals that they are meant to economically stimulate, but they also damage the economy as a whole by causing a surplus of job seeking workers in the labor market. Despite all the data that as proven the economic turbulence caused by minimum wage, we still live in a country that clings to the idea that maybe someday all of the economic theory and data that stands against minimum wage will miraculously change someday. Most shocking of all is not the data that disproves the benefits of minimum wage, but it is instead the 1935 Supreme Court decision (Poultry vs. US Government) that ruled minimum wage unconstitutional. In 1937 this decision was later reversed in the West Coast Hotel vs. Perish decision. Prior to this second decision, President Roosevelt (a staunch supporter of the FLSA and minimum wage) threatened to add judges to the Supreme Court, increasing the total number of judges on the high court by six, making it a total of 15. After reversing the 1935 decision, Justice Owen Roberts was heard to say, “a switch in time saves nine,” an expression of how it was better to allow this one unconstitutional law to pass than to allow FDR to be able to essentially control the Supreme Court with the appointment of so many new judges. One year later the FLSA was passed and the estimate that 30-50,000 people would be unemployed as a result was far surpassed. In Texas alone 40,000 people lost their jobs and the lines at unemployment offices across the country increased by a total of 3 million people.


-w




Works Cited



“History of the United States’ Minimum Wage.” minimum-wage.org/history.asp. Minimum-Wage.org, 2009-2001. Web.


“Effects of Increases in the Minimum Wage.” uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/min_wage.htm. University of Vermont, 1991-2001. Web.


Hamrock, Caitlin, and John Robert Warren. "The effect of minimum wage rates on high school completion." Social Forces 88.3 (2010): 1379+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.


Kersch, Ken. “Blacks and Labor – The Untold Story.” mason.gmu.edu/~dbernste/publicinterest.html. Public Interest, 2002. Web.


Figure 1: Deborah Ma. Supply and Demand Graph. 2011. University of British Colombia, Canada. UMBCwiki. Web.


Williams, Walter. “Why Minimum Wage Keeps Blacks Jobless.” Washingtonexaminer.com. Washington Examiner, 31 AUG 2011. Web.


Schmitt, John. "Minimum Wage Careers." The American Prospect 11.10 (2000): 8. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.


Lustig, Andrew. "Bare minimum: what constitutes a just wage?" Commonweal 133.3 (2006): 7+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.


Kelly, Kevin. "A minimal gesture: the politics of wage hikes." Commonweal 123.11 (1996): 8+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.


Gorman, Linda. “Minimum Wages.” Econlib.org/library/enc/minimumwages.html. Library of Economics and Liberty, n.d. Web.

The Good, The Bad, The 99% (By Jacob Coy)

This article is about a very important issue in my mind and I hope that most of you agree. We all know about the Occupy Wall Street Movement and what they represent but do they themselves know what they’re doing this for? I don’t believe they do and as I go on, I’ll explain the pros and cons of this current movement and why it doesn’t have the effectiveness it should.

I always enjoy starting on a good note, so here it goes. A movement such as this has been able to turn the tides of governments, dictators, whole countries and most importantly, have inspired people to get involved. I love seeing the Occupy Movement in the sense that people are passionate about what is happening in this country and they want you to care about it too. I also believe that they are protesting some key elements that are bringing this country down such as the Federal Reserve and a corrupt money market that essentially dictates the direction this country is heading in. I love seeing the streets filled with people fighting for a cause they believe in because, after all, a revolution is how this country was founded. I also love how they have remained non-violent, for the most part. So, in short, I’m all in favor of an occupy movement. I’m just not in favor of THIS occupy movement.

The problem I have with this occupy movement is the lack of intellect, the lack of planning, the lack of cognitive thinking, the fact that they refer to themselves as the 99% and most importantly, the lack of knowledge on the very issues they are out there protesting. I’ve been to a couple occupy movements in Charleston, S.C. and I’ve seen the videos and done the research on as many as I could find. The one, fundamental problem that I have seen in every single movement around the country is that people just straight out do not know what they are there for. They say things like, “End the Fed’” and “Wall Street is corrupt.” Or my favorite, “We are the 99%.” The people I have asked and the people I have seen asked about these issues don’t have a damn clue as to WHY the Federal Reserve is a bad thing or Why Wall Street’s practices are not in within the highest standards of a money market that handles our countries finances. They think that they’re the 99% because we have a high unemployment rate or, because although the cost of living has gone up and minimum wage has not, that they have been short-sided. These things may be true but they are in no way whatsoever the 99% of the world, nor are they the 99% of this country for that matter.

I could go on for days about why we should end the Fed or why we need to change the practices of Wall Street but that is not the intent of this article. The one message that I want to promote to everyone above everything I ever write, is that you need to educate yourself on the issues and get involved. Having a firm knowledge on what your point of view is not only lets people know that educated and prepared for debate, it also gives credibility to your claims. Do you have any idea how ridiculous those people sound when they’re asked why the Fed is bad and they blurt out some random gibberish? They bring down the status of the movement and then a stereotype begins that everyone there is just like that one moron. You lose credibility on everything you are fighting for. Nobody wants to listen to that and eventually your voice is drowned out by morons. Educate yourselves. Help educate others. Spread what you know and stand by the things you say. They’re absolutely right, they are the 99%.They’re the 99% that don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I’ve seen some amazing speakers at these movements who have really had inspiring words and knew what they were saying. If this movement was filled with people like that, I’d quit my job and go live in the streets with them.

This was also very poorly planned. Maybe not poorly planned but definitely poorly executed. The word of this movement didn’t spread far enough, the message wasn’t clearly stated and goals were not outlined in detail. Once people got wind of the movement, every retard who wanted to say something decided to show up. There were so many different points of view and lack of knowledge on THEIR OWN VIEWS!!!!, that it was nauseating. There was no clear message, you couldn’t find a knowledgeable person due to the crowd of incompetent sheep and you could figure out which direction they were firing these shots at. There was no objective. No goal line. No push for the hill because nobody had a clue where the hill was. It’s mass madness aimed in no particular direction, with no particular point and that is why this movement will fail.

In conclusion, I love the idea of this. I love the passion, although it’s not known what that passion is, and I love that so many people are willing to get behind something like this. However, we need to be educated and knowledgeable on the issues. The best analogy I can think of is, you can’t fire a weapon that has no ammunition. We are all capable of being this great weapon that can turn the tides of the country we live in but it’s the ammo that makes the weapon effective. Once again, thank you for reading and I welcome any comments, good or bad.

8 Character Qualities - An Introduction (By Walter Sweeney)

As mentioned in my previous post, there are certain qualities of character that are possessed by Veterans of America's Armed Forces.  Not that these character qualities are non-existent in civilians, but in my experience, they are more fully developed and more prevalent in Veterans.  I will be writing several blogs about these qualities, why Veterans seem to have them in spades and what that means for the Veterans community and the civilians that we interact with on a daily basis.  Before getting into that, however, I would like to introduce these character qualities to you briefly.

The first (and my favorite) of these character qualities is Loyalty.  Dictionary.com says that loyalty is, "Faithfulness to commitments or obligations," and "faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc."  In a post that I will compose and post soon, I will expand on that loyalty and give examples of it in action.

Persistence/Perseverance, "Lasting or enduring tenaciously," or "steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement."  This is the second of the qualities of character that I would like to introduce to you today.  From their/our experience as member of the military, Veterans have learned to push through and complete the task, regardless of the opposition that we inevitably face.  Again, I will be writing a full post about this at some point in the future.

Another character quality that I will be expanding more on in the future is the inherent Boldness of military Veterans.  Again quoting from Dictionary.com (what would I do without that site?), bold is defined as, "Not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring."  Surely this is a quality that, in many cases, can make the difference between life and death (either your own or someone else's) while in the military, and something that each and every one of us take out into the civilian world once our military obligation has been completed.

The, "ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like," is another great trait that Veterans are far from unfamiliar with.  This quality is more readily know as Resilience.  When I was in the United States Marine Corps, I learned from day one at Parris Island that it is a waste of time to let things get you down.  Every day someone or something is going to try to knock you down (figuratively and literally).  Cliche though it may be, Veterans are particularly resilient because each and every one of us know that there is nothing to be gained from laying on your back once you have been knocked to the ground.  Getting knocked down doesn't matter...you have to be able to stand back up and keep fighting even when it seems pointless.

If I had a nickle for every time there was some officer or higher ranking enlisted person that I had to restrain myself from cursing out or hitting, I wouldn't be hosting this blog on a free site since I would have the money to just buy my own domain.  The ability to deal with someone appropriately and respectfully despite what your animal instincts may tell you to do is called Tact.  It is a "keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations," (again, shout out to Dictionary.com).  Find me a Veteran who has never had to exercise tact, and exercise it a lot, and I will find you someone who has never actually served in the military.

While you would not be incorrect to assume or say that Vets can be very stubborn or hard headed at times, that doesn't necessarily mean that we are not also exceptionally Flexible.  Sure, it's nice when things go the way that we would like them to go (hell, who doesn't like it when that happens?), but when they don't Veterans possess the ability to quickly and easily adapt and overcome.  We are "susceptible of modification or adaptation" because, let's face it, when you work in a place where you don't get to make the rules and the rules that are made are non-negotiable, you learn to adapt.

Decisiveness, that is the next of our qualities...it a quality that allows you to "put an end to controversy; characterized by or displaying no or little hesitation; resolute; determined."  When we make a decision, we stick with it, and when it comes time for a decision to be made, we make it.  Veterans come from a world where a moments hesitation could impact you and/or the people around you drastically and forever.  We can't afford to be anything but decisive in war and since it kept us alive there, it is a quality that we carry with us into the relative peace of the "civilian world." 

Last, but hardly least, is Leadership and the Veterans intrinsic ability to lead.  Not to say that we all desire to take control of whatever we involve ourselves in and do things our way.  That is not the case.  In fact, I would wager that I know more Veterans who would rather follow than have the responsibility of leading...after all, once must be an excellent follower in order to be any kind of quality leader at all.  Regardless of an individual Veterans desire to lead or desire to follow, each and every one of us have it in us to be a "guiding or directing head" for whatever group we are put into.  We know how to work in a team, with a team and as the leader of a team, and we do all of those things well.

So there you have it, eight qualities of character that set Veterans apart from civilians.  Over the next several weeks and months I will be posting a more detailed description of each of these character qualities and the secondary qualities that are encompassed by the "Big 8."  I will work to have a new character quality blog posted by the end of the day each Friday.  At that rate, this particular theme of posts will last for about 2 months starting on Friday, January 27th and ending on Friday, March 16th.  Please don't hate me if I fall a little behind, ok?  The spring semester starts on Monday, so my life is about to get a lot busier here in a few days.  Finally, I haven't made a decision about which order I want to do the character qualities in yet.  If anyone would like to hear about one or a few more than other, leave me a comment or send me an email and I will work to get those more demanded posts written first.

-w

Educational Benefits and You Number One - Certification (Posted by Walter Sweeney)

DISCLAIMER AND INTRODUCTION

One of the things I would really like to do with this page is routinely post general information about Veteran's Educational Benefits and other benefit related topics.  It is important that you, as the reader, be aware that these posts are borrowed from outside sources, some of whom post information specific to their state or institution.  The information posted here is meant to be nothing more than a resource to understand how things work in some places, so maybe it will be easier for you, as a Veteran, to figure out how they work in the place where you are.  If you have specific questions about where the information is taken from or where it specifically applies to, please feel free to contact us at VeteransVoiceOnline@gmail.com and we will attempt to assist you.  Again, we have received no formal training concerning Veterans Benefits and can speak only based upon our own individual experiences to try and help friends figure out their situations.  If we're wrong, don't hate...we don't claim to be right all the time.  That being said, hope this and the posts to follow help.

Part One - Certification of GI Bill and Educational Benefits

Certification Required

To receive education benefits you must be certified, a process that can take up to three months. Your first step is to go to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website and apply for your federal GI Bill education benefits utilizing their Veteran On-line Application (VONAPP).  Applicants for Chapter 31 must meet with a US Department of Veterans Affairs counselor. 

Once a student has applied for benefits and registered for classes they will need to submit a Veteran Registration Reporting Form (VRRF) to the Office of the Registrar. The Office of the Registrar will then issue a Verfication of Enrollment (VA Form 22-1999) via VA ONCE to inform the VA that the student is enrolled at Mason and requesting education benefits. For more information regarding the veteran enrollment certfication process at Mason please visit the Office of the Registar.

Keep in mind that any veterans’ education benefits you receive must be reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you have specific questions, please contact the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Buffalo Office toll-free at 1-888-442-4551 or go to the US Department of Veterans Affairs web site, www.gibill.va.gov.

Verify Your Enrollment

Chapter 30, 1607 and 1606 recipients: Once you are certified for your benefits, you must verify your enrollment with the Veterans Administration at the end of each month before you will receive your payment. To verify enrollment, go to the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) or call 1-877-823-2378.

Duey's Corner - The First Conversation (By Dave Warner)

This is a hybrid version of an Argument paper I wrote for my English class last fall semester in Florida.  It was written around the time Ron Paul was rising in the polls, right before he received negative ‘press’ from the media.  The paper is for withdrawing all of our military Armed Forces from foreign bases and how it can benefit and improve our economy and the country in general. Enjoy.

Withdrawing our military forces worldwide and bringing them home can be beneficial to the United States.

       The United States has the biggest military in the world, having 865 military bases in more then 40 different countries throughout the world.  Our government is currently spending billions per month in three active “conflicts” each involving separate countries and other minor disputes around the globe. For the year 2010 Congress passed an over $680 billion dollar military defense budget through the House of Representatives without a second thought on how that vast amount of money could be used in better ways. Not a single cent of that money will go towards the hard working Americans that make the defense budget possible. No other country around the world currently, or in past history, has achieved the military might and budget that the United States maintains today. More people throughout the United States and the world are coming to realize these types of polices cannot last much longer. Our country and the world are currently struggling through a bad economic recession, which started in 2008 and has no foreseeable end in sight. Many Americans are asking ‘what can our country do different’? and ‘how can we make our economy better and lower the overall debt’?  It’s simple, withdraw our troops from all of our military bases around the world and bring them home. By withdrawing our troops from every base and country around the world we can; save American and civilian lives; stop providing American money and manpower to defend the United Nations; keep our country and citizens safe from more conflicts as a result of our deployed troops and lastly, put that money towards good use within our countries’ borders for the benefit of our citizens and economy.

       One of the most prevalent and deadly tactics “terrorists” use against coalition forces is the suicide bomber; a man/women who straps a vest with explosives or rides in a vehicle with explosives and detonates it with the intent on killing themselves and others.  In their book, Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Terrorism and How to Stop it authors Robert A. Pape and James K. Feldman explain that suicide bombers haven’t been around as long as people think, and the general assumption that there are scores of fighters willing to sacrifice their life for their cause is false (Pape and Feldman 81). Jason Kelly stated in an article in the Chicago Journal that, “until the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there (has) never been a suicide terrorist attack in the country.” Our militaries occupation in countries around the world is a direct cause of the wounded and dead in our military branches. We cannot talk about the wars our country is current fighting in and not mention the innocent civilians that have been lost as a result.  In their article, in the New York Times, Sabrina Tavernise and Andrew W. Lehren state that there was an estimated 100,000 innocent lives lost in Iraq between 2004-2009. They mention that in the city of Fallujah during the 2004 “push” none of the Iraqis killed were categorized as civilians. Our military occupies countries under the banner of “democracy” and “freedom” in order to end tyrannical rulers and allow the people to live in a peaceful country yet hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians die due to their occupation, the very people they were sent there to help protect! 

       The United Nations is the world’s sole organization of powerful countries from around the world, their purpose is to maintain peace and settle disagreements without military intervention and also promote progressive and fair economic policies. As the only Super Power in the world, our country has a responsibility to lend a helping hand to nations in need. That was the idea when the United Nations was started and supported by the United States shortly after World War II. However, due to the devastating effects of the Second World War on the major European nations, they could not provide adequate defense over their own countries and their allies. The United States stepped in to provide protection from the threat of Communist Russia. This eventually led us to the point we are at now. Hundreds of thousands of our military men and women are sitting in bases around the world idly. We have three active conflicts [when this paper was written] with American and civilians wounded and killed everyday. The countries of Germany, Japan and South Korea depend on our military forces to defend their county. Germany and Japan lost their privileges to hold a national military force after World War II as part of the peace treaty that ended the war. Over sixty-five years our country has protected Germany, Japan, South Korea and Israel from foreign threats while they spend money on their economy and other domestic needs. What do we, as a country, have to show for all of this effort? Very little with a multi-trillion dollar national deficit, failing national credit ratings, failing banks, and a failing economy we cannot afford to maintain this military standard around the world.  No country in history has ever been able to maintain a massive military force spread throughout the world for very long without dire effects on their security and economy.

       One very real and potentially dangerous problem brought about from our bloated hegemonic military presence around the world is Iran and its mission of obtaining nuclear power/weapons. There is a very logical reason for Iran to want nuclear power and eventually weaponize it, and that is for its security. Countries with nuclear weapons do not go to war with each other. Iran sits on very big and profitable reserves of oil and other natural resources. The United States with the help of the U. N. wants these resources. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, however, the U.N. and U.S. will not be able to obtain those resources using the same methods as Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan because it could possible start a nuclear war.

       In this map the white stars represent all the active United States military bases that are currently around Iran. Put yourself in the shows of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president. With the long list of occupied countries and conflicts in the Middle East region by the United States what other choice does he have?  If war broke out between Iran and the United States, Iran would surely lose.  If, however, Iran obtained nuclear weapons no major war would break out for fear of those weapons being used. In the days of the Cold War, this type of tactic is called MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). It means that if you have nuclear weapons, then I have a comparable amount that we can use to mutually destroy each other when and if the time comes that nuclear weapons need to be used. This is a prime example of why our military forces need to be brought home.  Our presence in countries (whether we are actively fighting or are simply occupying) causes there to be more conflict between our country and others. If we bring our troops home and stop interfering in other countries affairs our country will benefit because less wars would be fought.

       When we served in the Marine Corps most of us were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in the city of Jacksonville (or in your respected units base).  According to Lindell Kay’s Forbes article, Jacksonville, NC was rated the number one city for jobs and economic stability during this recession. The majority of the population of Jacksonville is military members and their families because of the military bases that surrounded the city. The only reason why Jacksonville was given this rating was because of the thousands of military personnel and their family’s living and spending money there, just imagine the economic boost if all of our troops overseas were brought home. We would not need the massive military force we have now if we withdrew our troops, which makes millions of workers available to work. Our economy would not be fixed overnight from this recession just because we brought our troops home. It would take a couple of years to stabilize unemployment and the economy but in the long run our country would reap the rewards. Also, the billions spent on our defense budget could be put towards other projects that will benefit Americans more directly; our dilapidated highways and schools are two good examples. In his book, The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, author Nick Turse states that we could clear $2.6 billion if we would sell our base assets at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and earn another $2.2 billion if we did the same with Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Closing just two bases would save us $4.8 billion dollars.  Imagine if we closed all of our military bases around the world. It would save trillions. If our country uses the money and manpower that funds our obtuse military into public works and the national debt we would benefit greatly.

       The United States of America is a force to be reckoned with on both the military and economic side of the spectrum. We spend billions of taxpayer’s money a month on three separate wars without any positive results for American citizens. Unless you think a defaulting economic system and American flag draped coffins are signs of success then you know this path our country is currently on is not sustainable.  It is time for us to take the high road as a country and a people to cease all these wars.  How do you think our country looks to others? We bully countries around, forcing them to commit to policies that will benefit us at the expense of others. It is a blatant abuse of power. We should be using our position as the only Super Power in the world for good, not endless war and evil. Our government was founded by free men, for free men; they gave the voice of power to the people so that they can decide what the government will do for them not what the people will do for the government. It is up to the masses to let their voices be heard. The only way this country can change is through the people and their power at the voting booths. Our country has been running around the world causing unchecked havoc for years. We have wasted billions on wars throughout the world, countless thousands of American, Coalition allies and, innocent civilian lives lost, and exorbitant amounts of destruction to economies and countries around the world. Our country’s economic situation is not hopeless, and in this case, the grass is greener on the other side. History has shown us that war is never the answer and more problems are caused through wars then are solved. It is time we start paying attention to the policies our government has in place for our military and act accordingly because there will come a time when our wasteful spending cripples our country for good.

~ How can you change political policy on the international scale?  It’s easy.  Using a local VFW post, your college/university student veterans organization or even local activist groups. All of these groups and organizations have a similar ‘brotherhood’ atmosphere. It sounds hypocritical to join Veterans for Peace or Veterans Against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars organizations having served in those wars and fought and honestly, had some really funny/good moments along with the bad moments.  Regardless of that, those experiences changed you and if you feel that the ‘conflicts’ that this country is fighting in are not worth the loss of life and economic resources there is no reasons why you can’t actively (and maturely) oppose it.  If any one is interested in information on local Veterans Organizations or on the G.I. Bill/V.A. stuff let me know, I’d be more then welcome to provide information and at the least point you in the right direction.  Hope you enjoyed the post, kudos to both Jacob Coy and Walter  for their awesome posts, if you haven’t checked then out you should.  

                                                                      -Dave W.

Works Citied

Kay, Lindell. “Forbes Magazine names Jacksonville No. 1.” JD News. N.p. 22 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Kelly, Jason. “Suicidal Tendencies.” Chicago Journal, 2010.  Gale Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Lehren, Andrew W., and Sabrina Tavernise. "Buffeted by Fury and Chaos, Civilians Paid Heaviest Toll." New York Times 23 Oct. 2010: A1(L). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Pape, Robert A., James K. Feldman. Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop it. Chicago; U of Chicago, 2010. Print.

Turse, Nick. The Complex: How the Military Invades our Everyday Lives. New York, NY. Metropolitan Books. 2008. Print.

“U.S. Military Bases around Iran.”  Map. Google Maps. Web. 19 Nov. 2010.

A Country Divided (By Jacob Coy)

       I would like to start off by saying that I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, 0331 Machine Gunner. I served in Fallujah, Iraq as well as on the USS Iwo Jima on the 26^th MEU. The topic of this article is to explain the fundamental problem we face as a society today to include the causes, the effects and ways in which to solve this problem.

           The biggest problem that has arisen is the disconnect between the political parties and ultimately choosing the best course of action for the people of this nation. Whether or not you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, the absolute primary goal of political parties is to devise a way to better the lives of the American people, maintain social and economic stability, create rules and regulations within the confines of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and more than anything, protect its people’s freedoms and safety. What has happened in past years is the political war between parties. If the Democrats come out with a good plan for healthcare, the Republicans shoot it down. If the Republicans come out with good plan for foreign policy, the Democrats shoot it down. We’re no longer looking at what’s really important; the stability, growth, welfare of the people and the longevity of the United States. Political parties fighting each other leads to the parties followers fighting each other and until we can find common ground, we cannot expect to progress as a nation. I’m not saying we all have to agree with each other, but we need to change our motives.

           Step one in this process, is to eliminate corporate influence. Far too often you see politicians backing corporations in an effort to secure profits. What this leads to is an overwhelming influence from those corporations on the politicians, which don’t always have the United States’ best interests in mind, especially when you look at oil companies and defense contracts. These are two areas that bring in enormous profit with very little gains as far as the U.S. citizens are concerned. I’m not knocking capitalism. I’m all for companies making maximum profit as long as it doesn’t come from the weakening of the economy.

           Step two is to take a breather from the bickering back and forth to see what problems are truly facing the nation and not whether you’re red or blue. We’ve become so focused on destroying the other party’s credibility that we’ve lost sight of the weakening financial state, the growing unemployment, the lack of education, the increasing prison population, the foreign wars still being fought and I could go on all day. Sit down together as a nation, because at the end of the day we’re all Americans, and find out ways to better ourselves and our situations. Coming to an agreement isn’t going to be easy but it’s made more difficult when one side is unwilling to listen to the other.

           Before I start this portion, I’d just like to say that these are only opinions and I am open to constructive criticism or educated debate. Taking the economic pressure off of government is going to reap benefits beyond imagining. We have over 15 trillion dollars of debt and steadily rising. The primary cause of this debt is a centralized banking system that controls the production and value of our dollar. I’m not going into detail on the Federal Reserve because if you don’t know its practices by now, you shouldn’t be reading this. Eliminating the centralized banking system would bring our debts down a considerable amount, taking a little bit of pressure off of the government as well as bringing a higher value back to our dollar. Not only does the interest we owe to the Fed go away but the value of our currency going up also eliminates some zeros from the debt.

           As much as I loved the Marine Corps, pulling out of foreign wars will eliminate the trillions of dollars we spend to sustain them, bringing more money into things that we need such as education, job creation and opening up prospects for foreign trade markets. Higher education means more people contributing to society and in turn, creates a better future for the next generation. Job creation employs people to build that better future and secure for themselves and their families, a better standard of living. Obviously, we don’t have all the materials we need in the U.S., so opening foreign trade will give us a better opportunity to get the resources we need at a better price from more countries than what we’re limited to now. Ending these wars also creates a stronger national defense by increasing the protection we have in our own country. We’re spread so thin right now that it wouldn’t take much for a foreign country to launch an offensive on CONUS (Continental United States) with startling results.

           These are just ideas to get the brain moving and these are just my opinions. There’s plenty more to come from my end. I challenge everyone to get involved, to provide input and generally speaking, to care about the state of this country. A country divided is no country at all and I just want to see constructive ideas from some of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever seen: veterans. Thank you for reading and please feel free to add any input you would like to this article. Also, a big shout out to Walter and Dave for setting all this up. I am proud to have served with you and I look forward to the progression of this site.