America has troops in over 100 countries. Is this really necessary? Why are we the world’s policeman? We’re deep in debt yet continue to spend billions occupying countries that wish we would leave. Watch this short video I shot in Costa Rica—a country with no army. I’ll look forward to your comments. Steve Siebold (1:59)
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Definitely it makes more sense to bring the troops home. If u wanna be the best that u can be u need to work on urself first (inward search) not on every body else around u. If we focus our efforts here at home then we cud do so much more.
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http://edgarbazante.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/faster-metabolism-how/
Hi Steve,
Man I could not agree with you more. America bring our troops home NOW! All of them where ever they are.
Big bad America, the worlds police force, with our broke asses.
We need our men and women here at home in America. Their families need them.
America is the greatest nation on the earth but, we need to stay the hell out of other countries business and mind our own, which we don’t seem to be able to do all that well, not matter whose in office.
I say we should cut our losses now, and bring our troops home.
I think the controversial issues are entertaining, mostly just because definite answers will never be found. It’s interesting to see how statistics and numbers and facts can be produced, but such “facts” don’t seem to sway people much as far as I’ve seen. Especially politically (For example this week when Senator Perry was accused of ignoring science from things he said in the debate).
My opinion? The United States of America has done a world of good. No pun intended. The world wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for what America. I see advantages to both sides, as expressed by you Steve, and the flip side of Mike Jacobi. We are spending a lot of money especially during a crisis, but we have been an influence for good.
I believe that in life there are answers that are good for eternity, and answers that change with the times. I believe that this answer is one that changes with the times. In the past, America was needed to set the example, to provide help and care and be the big brother that would back you up on the playground. The hard thing to come to grips with now is that America itself is sick as well. I believe that there are more crucial problems to fix on the home front (not just economy) than there are abroad. The problem is that those with the power to do so are blinded by just that: power. As Mike Jacobi said, socialism has overtaken the world, and we are the last ones standing. We need leaders who get into powerful positions to serve. To forget about positions and power and popularity for re-elections and to love and serve the country that put them in office, and fight for the values that do not change but are now forgotten. The question is, is there anybody out there willing to do it?
Sorry for the delay on the reply, but had to find a PC! lol … rumor has it you’re coming to the Apple side soon! Yea!
So before I go back and read the responses I’ll be pithy on mine. Question: Do we (America) need to be the worlds policeman?
Imagine a world without America. Can you? Your (our) job as leaders and individuals is to help the little guy. The guy who bullies are running over, who the system has forgotten and has left behind. The strong has to protect the weak! As a country we have to do the same!
Should these countries who have the capability to repay us do so? Absolutely! These oil rich nations have to financially pay for what we provide, but to stay on point I’ll end with my original questions …
Can you imagine a world without America?
Most Grateful,
Ward D. Lyon
Okay Steve, my government friend emailed back and here’s what he said about your topic:
“In a nutshell, people don’t realize enough to realize what they do not know.”
I couldn’t agree more. My brother works in Homeland Security and he shakes his head at topics like this.
I also echo Dr. Jackson. Your premise here is not based on sound (critical) thinking or substantive fact. You’re painting a broad stroke on a topic that is based on mere conjecture. I think you’re just stirring controversy just to have controversy and that pattern is evident through many of your blogs.
Why not engage your readers on real issues instead of topics that are a caricature of reality?
You taught at the workshop that we should be thought leaders and to be prepared to defend our platform with FACT-BASED thinking, so here’s a couple that will get your blood boiling:
While you and any other reader looking at this are sitting at your PC’s, type in http://www.burzynskimovie.com and check out the recently published documentary where big pharma and the FDA were caught red-handed trying to block the cure for cancer from being available to US citizens. That’s right, the cure. Order the DVD and watch it for yourself and see the video footage of testimony from countless patients who were cured from all forms of inoperable cancer and how angry they are with the FDA that prostitutes itself with big pharma to block it. The multi-billion dollar oncology business is all about money–not cures. Have you, or anyone else reading this ever watched a loved one die from cancer? Well, you’ll be outraged after you see this fact based evidence which includes testimony on Capitol Hill about the abuse Americans endure because of cover-ups like this and how your loved one could have been saved. Big pharma does a lot more to ruin American freedom than so-called organized religion. Don’t believe me? Don’t take my word for it and see the evidence for yourself–I defy you to look at it. I even spoke to one of the doctors on the documentary and did more research to find the facts, and it’s true. Many doctors I’ve spoken with openly admit it.
Or throw some mental toughness at the topic of how big oil corporations do all they can to block innovation for proven technology that enables any vehicle to run on water based fuels or simple hydrogen technology. Check out the work of Rudolf Gunnerman, or Stan Meyers, or http://www.HHOHHU.com and see how simple technology has been around for a while to heat your home on water. See what these inventors say and hear it for yourself. I’ve built the hydrogen generators myself and they work, but as one scientist told me during an interview, he has endured more attacks and hindrances from oil companies than anything else.
The White House doesn’t run this country as much as we’d like to think–big corporations and the media do more to dupe us than any of us realize. We are literal slaves to big corps that have us right where they want us. Just like when General Motors was nailed for anti trust for buying up all the public transit systems back in the ’40’s and running them into the ground so Americans would buy more cars.
The real test of mental toughness your pupils of “thought leadership” will face Steve, is that as emerging keynoters, will we pander to these types of corporations by keynoting at their conventions while they get away with what they do?
You might want to look in to it.
I’m done.
Ken
Brother Ken,
My apologies, but I’m going to have to push back on this one. But only on the issue of America occupying other countries.
We can talk about big pharma another time. I’d be glad to since I’ve consulted the biggest companies in the business for 15 years.
Emotional thinking has clouded your argument, Ken. You assume the information I’m presenting is simply based on my opinion. Is it possible that I have greater access to information than you or your friend in Washington? Maybe I do or don’t, and it doesn’t really matter. The point is you’re debating an opponent you know little about, beyond your emotionally-driven assumptions. Thats one of the insidious ways emotion clouds judgement. You say i don’t know what I don’t know, yet you have no idea what or whom I know.
As Mike Michelozzi say’s “Thoughts?”
Steve here in uganda America is the reason we surfer and the same reason we enjoy
regards
mark
@Mandy Surely an empire which stays within its borders is just a country? Or am I missing something here?
The US is in a strange position. I don’t think it really set out to be an empire but somehow it’s happened (without conquering other nations – at least in the traditional way. It’s more cultural and economic conquest).
I think ultimately empires fail because they overreach and/or begin rotting from the core leadership. Perhaps so many troops in so many countries represents the symptoms of overreaching. And depending on your political colour you might well think it has begun to rot from the core outwards too.
Love your thoughts from Costa Rica Steve.
And I particularly admire what happened in Costa Rica after their terrible civil war in 1948 with the new government constitutionally abolishing its army in 1949. I had heard many former soldiers were retrained as Tour Operators and Parks and Wildlife Rangers to promote tourism. Very heartening, and probably a scary idea to implement.. what no Army! Crikey!
I do agree with a “Defence” force (as our body has an immune system for defences against disease) and I disagree with an “Offence” force which seems to be the attitude of many armies and leaders in positions of power.
And on the note people in positions of power, I raised the issue recently with a local politician that we seem to be drifting from the democratic ideal of “government of the people by the people for the people” to “government of the people by the government for the government”. (I didn’t get much response – go figure).
All the best with the Blogs, love the thought promoting ideas.
Cheers
Ray
We can not be a country of we are better than or more than.We must wake up to knowing that peace comes from within our own conscious.All the wars that have been fought have destroyed the human spirit.This spirit is knowing that all cultures,races, nationalities want peace on universal level.It cannot be just one. We must wake up and realize all countries can live a life of peace. This must be done collectively.We all come from the same source so we are connected wether
we see it or understand it ..Ignorance creates fear and it also demands competiton
of being the winner.Each of us can join our minds in viewing this world in a better way.
Brother Steve,
I must call you out on this one. It’s a poor question young man…logically speaking. How you can provide a factual answer if you don’t know what the ‘real’ threats are? Between the CIA, FBI, Black Ops, and other ‘unknown’ military intell orgs…you ‘really’ don’t know why our troops are on foreign soil until you have accurate information.
I like where your head’s at, but wasn’t able to get mental traction on this one.
Would you do me a favor though? Next time, go to Brazil and shoot the video in at the Le Carnival (big cheesy smile).
After all, Brazil is #1 in:
-world GDP
-exporter to China
-iron ore production
-cattle production
-created more than 10 mill jobs in 5 years
-produces over 15% of the world’s drinking water
-home of the next world cup
-home of the next Summer Olympics, after London
They have plenty to protect and NO military. The motto from Brazilian Billionaire, Eike Batista, is, “Why make war when you can make love.” Ha!
How about this, let’s send our troops to Brazil to start an intelligence Enterprise, tap into Brazil’s economy, and send more money back home than it costs to keep them there? Information marketing is huge these day!
Catch you on the flip side,
London
london porter com
Since the economic interests of the United States have become global and the influence of the special interests, which represent those economic interests, have gained control of the federal government, they want the military to help protect their investments in foreign countries. Within that last statement are a lot of the issues that plague this country. Use of military for corporate interests and the influence of big corporate money in our government are just two of them. You mentioned Ron Paul. A lot of his positions are right on, although some of them are just plain wrong. We do not need to involved in many of these countries. It will cost lives and way too much money to try and enforce our will on them. It is an expense we cannot afford.
Thanks for the question, Steve, and safe travel to you.
Wow Steve, did you open a can of worms. At least you found something that some people are fairly passionate about. I love all the the conspiracy theory’s it shows that even on this blog many still have middle class, victim mentality thinking. We have created what we have in the US. We have to take personal repsonsiblility for what is going on in this country. Once we have taken responsibility then we need to actually get off the couch and do something. If you think we need to have bases closed and troops home then elect people that will do what you want done. PS… elect means more than vote. It means become involved, actually invest some time in the process of electing and campaigning. If you think we are over spending as a governemnt then clean up your own finances first. Ask the critical thinking questions of how much debt do I have, do I spend within my means. We cannot point fingers at the goverment that we elected and then go back and live however we want. Whoever asked if we are relecting the President, I hope was kidding. We elected a man with NO leadership capability whatsoever and we elected him with full knowledge that he had never lead anything more that a classroom of students. What did we expect? Lets try this time to pick a leader with acutal leadership capabiity that has actaully lead something. The Tea Party is an interesting group, by the way they live everywhere, they may even live next door to you and they have elected a group that has taken control of Congress by standing on principle, whether you agree with them or not is not the point. But what they have done is take a stand…like it or not…it can, and is, being done. Fiat currencly now there is a subject Ben Bernanke knows a lot about. Yes Steve some military bases need to be closed, we have capabilites now that we did not have when NATO etc. was conceived, but in some countries we have great economic influence around bases and when military bases are closed cities and countries and PEOPLE will lose jobs and this needs to be done thoughtfully for our allies economic interests not just ours. Lets elect leaders that will take stands on the issues that are crtical to putting this country back on strong economic footing and leaders that have their main concern of doing what is right not about being relected. Yes I am for a flat tax regardless of how many unemployed CPA’s, CFP’s and tax related Attorneys will starve. Think about it! I am also for term limits we have got to Pelosi, Waters and Frank and some Republicans out! And finally, no not everyone deserves to own a home!
Randy G
The short and simple answer is that there is no need for 248 military bases in 100 countries.
Every empire in history that spread outside its natural borders decayed and died. The Roman, the Mongols and the British.
It’s a little too late to be discussing a mute point such as this. This country is toast, look at what China has been doing with all of our interest payments to them. The USA will soon be as meaningless in the world as the UK.
China’s new aircraft carrier! Wow!
These aircraft carriers look formidable and of ultra modern design.
There are reports the 1st Chinese aircraft carrier is under construction and could
enter service around 2015 or earlier. It won’t be long before we see the real thing.
Defense analysts are waiting; watching anxiously.
THIS IS QUANTUM LEAP ABOVE ANYTHING WE HAVE ON THE DRAWING BOARD.
THEY HAVE THOUGHT ” OUTSIDE THE BOX ” ON THIS ONE. BETTER SPEED, LARGER
CAPACITY, MUCH MORE STABLE, ETC. DEFINITELY A ” BLUE-WATER ” LONG REACH
VESSEL. PLUS THEY CAN SERVICE THEIR NUKE SUB FLEET IN-BETWEEN THE TWIN HULLS
( SIGHT UNSEEN ) OR EVEN LAUNCH AMPHIBIOUS OPPS FROM SAME. IT WILL BE
LAUNCHED IN HALF THE TIME IT TAKES THE USA AT JUST ONE-THIRD THE COST. ADD
THE NEW CHINESE STEALTH FIGHTER BOMBER ( NAVAL VERSION ALREADY FLIGHT
TESTING ) IN THE MIX AND YOU HAVE THE MAKINGS OF A FORMIDABLE WEAPONS
SYSTEM INDEED..
ALSO LOOK AT THAT EXTRA ”PARKING AND READINESS” STATION BETWEEN BOTH HULL
STRUCTURES.. AND OF COURSE THE LAUNCHING AND LANDING CAPABILITIES FROM THE
UTILIZATION OF TWIN FLIGHT DECKS AT ONCE
P.S. SOME THOUGHT SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ADVISING YOUR
GRANDCHILDREN TO LEARN TO SPEAK MANDARIN ( FORGET SPANISH )
MY ” VERY, VERY BRIGHT ” 15-YEAR OLD 3rd COUSIN HAS ALREADY BEEN ADVISED TO DO SO BY PEOPLE WHO KNOW ABOUT SUCH THINGS.
P.P.S SIX OF THESE VESSELS ( TWO PACIFIC, TWO ATLANTIC, ONE INDIAN
OCEAN AND ONE MED SEA ) WOULD BE A PRETTY GOOD DIPLOMATIC
” BIG STICK “.
NOTE: THE CHINESE ARE ALREADY DRILLING FOR OIL OFF CUBA,
BRAZIL AND VENEZUELA. CAN THEY BUILD A FLEET OF THESE THINGS ???
A FEW FACTS: THE CHINESE HAVE COMPLETED THE WORLD’S BIGGEST
DAM ( THREE GORGES ), THE WORLD’S LONGEST OVER-WATER BRIDGE ( 65 TIMES AS MUCH STEEL
AS IN THE EIFFEL TOWER ).CONSTRUCTED A 15,000 ‘ HIGH RAILROAD INTO
TIBET (ALL CONSIDERED MAJOR ENGINEERING FEATS).
THEY ARE THE ONLY NATION OTHER THAN RUSSIA THAT CAN LAUNCH
MEN INTO OUTER SPACE ( OUR CAPABILITY ENDS WITH THE LAST SPACE
SHUTTLE LAUNCH THIS MONTH ).
THEY HAVE ALSO SHOT DOWN A SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE ( ONE OF
THEIR OWN ) FROM THE GROUND. PLUS THEY ” OWN OUR ASS ” IN THE
INTERNATIONAL DEBT GAME.
CHINA’S NEW A/C CARRIER COULD BE TWICE AS FAST AS ANYTHING WE
HAVE, PLUS THE STABILITY OF A CATAMARAN TYPE HULL WILL GREATLY
REDUCE THE PITCHING, YAWING AND SWAYING COMMON TO OUR
PRESENT DESIGNS.
The troops are there not to police but to protect America’s interests (and in particular to make sure it gets a disproportionate share of the world’s resources like oil, rare earth metals etc). Note I’m not judging – we do the same in the UK (both historically and currently). And I think any politician would be mad to pull them out – as the average American’s quality of life would quickly deteriorate without access to these additional resources.
Morally it isn’t right but you can see why it happens.
Every empire uses troops to make its presence felt and so maintain a status quo which suits it.
I agree with you Steve to a point, but a study of the history of when and why we first went into all of these places would really help in a better understanding of why we might still be there and if it is still needed.
I think we may find it is like Mike Jacobi has posted above. Or maybe it is altogether different as Maggie D has posted or what D. Harris posted, that sounds like it can really be just like he explains.
But what I do know and found is that most people in general are good people and want only good for others. In the US, that is the foundation of what made us a super-power in the first place. We came to this understanding and we all grew up protecting it over all these years. We all learned to live together…… It’s called “Freedom”.
But now, as many others continue to come to our country, they are wanting our country to change to what they want it to be, instead of joining us as we all have done over all these years and from all over the world.
That is when I first started to see this change take place. I think this kind of freedom is what will take us down as a super-power. We may be too free and are allowing this to happen to our country because we have been asleep. Now they are in power to make it happen without us.
Yes, we will pull out of these countries over the next few years because money is running out. You can only print so many QEs and inflation will take you out.
But I feel that will also be a sad day for what it will bring to the world. I can’t even think to be forced to live without REAL freedom we in the US have come to enjoy and the world wants or hates us for having it.
The US wants the world to have the option to follow us to this freedom so that they too can live free in their country. But there are those who want total control over people and want the US to follow them and will do whatever it takes to make this happen even with force.
Who will win in the end?
Only God knows and it is in His hands. I for one will focus each day on the cup as half full instead of half empty and will enjoy what all life has to offer. That is what life is all about.
P.S. I loved Mike Jacobi’s entry–Bravo!
Uh, Steve, I’m hearing myself say the same thing I’ve said after reading a few of the past half-dozen or so blogs: “You can’t be serious….”
Or am I supposed to play along again? I know you’re smarter than this; that’s why I keep laughing because I think I know what you’re doing…You just LOVE stirrin’ up those leaves! Can’t wait to see this book of yours in January–only I want MY copy signed when you & I go to lunch. Yes, I’ll buy.
But just as a favor (in case you REALLY want to know what’s going on beyond the media) I’ll forward this to my close friend who is a top level anti-terrorism expert who works closely with foreign governments and travels to more countries than anyone I know–he circles the globe at least twice a year and trains top level agents for various governments. I’ll get some fact-based critical thinking from someone who knows what’s going on–if I can reach him and if he will let me tell you. I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say to such questions as this–if I can get him to take me seriously….
I’ll get back to you when I hear from him.
007
Steve
I couldn’t agree more. The states are in a pickle as it is. The country needs to get their priorities straight. It’s like this Steve. If a person is sick and they give all their medicine away to help others and didn’t keep any for themself, what good is that? The states are sick and they need to stop trying to help everyone else and start helping their own people to get the country well again.
M.W.
With regards to defense I’m always cautious about analysis of policy without having all the facts. There are many interoperability factors between countries that have been working for year in defense policy that outsiders will never be able to comprehend. That being said the obvious is not always obvious without all the facts.
Steve,
Here comes your favorite German, who has quite a different take on all this.
As you know, I grew up in communist East Germany, we had to flee after my stepfather was falsely accused of being a spy for the West. My family lost almost all during the fire bomb attack on Dresden, my grandfather was almost shot, as he despised Hitler. I was born during the Berlin airlift, I sat in front of the TV, when the Berlin Wall was erected and fear of a nuclear war gripped Germany.
So, I look at the USA from a different perspective: For the last 100 years, this country has sacrificed millions of people and billions of dollars with one purpose and one purpose alone: to bring other countries freedom and sometime democracy. We did not take wealth of these countries, we did not blunder their National Banks, did not confiscate their natural resources, we did not dismantle their factories and shipped them here (all these things were done by the Soviets). In 1945, barely a few months after the end of the horrible WWII, the American public, through CARE, start sending packages of food to the defeated enemy, so they can survive a tough winter. Tell me another country in the history of the world, who has ever done that.
If the US would step down as the World Power, we would leave a vacuum, which needs to be filled. Who do you think has stronger moral right to step in this position: China, Russia, Europe? All are either ruled by dictators or socialists, who are looking for world control. Yes, the cold war is over, but the fight against socialism and full government control over all our lives is still ongoing. The US is the last country, which has not either fallen fully to socialism or is ruled by a dictator.
I am not saying, we are a perfect country or perfect people. After all we are just humans with all our mistakes, but there is no country out there right now which believes deeper then the USA in freedom and responsibility and the pursuit of happiness and all the rights and responsibility of our constitution. It is the only constitution in the world which starts with: We, The People and were the people still believe and fight for the right to control its government.
A passionate view of one immigrant.
Mike
Steve,
I am reading the responses and I am not surprised. The government “control” and corruption is not just overseas policing but it is destroying the youth of our country. The government has such a lock on education that school officials can only act as government puppets. The general population lacks an understanding of what is really going on in the educational system.
I have been an educator for the past 18 years with two masters degrees (formal education) controlled by institutions. I then decided to educated myself and pay top dollar from some of the top thought leaders in the world. Many who have worked with you. I continued my personal education with studying neuro-science, mind science, psychology and meditation. None of which is being used in schools. When I present my findings to administrators they turn the other way. Even some of my close business associates who are psychologist and trained therapist are being ignored.
The research is staggering that schools are the biggest anti-brain environments ever created. In continuing my research I discovered that the current school system in place was the same system created during the Industrial Revolution to create factory workers. Last time I checked we were not in the Industrial Revolution. This mass training and herding of students is an insult to the intelligence of our youth.The dumbing down of society needs to stop. Schools do not teach people to think at all. On the contrary, we teach students what to think instead of HOW to think.
The word Education derives from the verb educe, which means “to draw forth from within.” The original teaching method of Socrates of drawing from within has been largely displaced by government control. Students are taught how to take exams but not how to think, write or find their own path.
I apologize for discussing education on your government policing blog but both are rooted in CONTROL. There is a theme that continues to ring….control, control, control.
I would love for you to do an public education video blog to get America thinking about this topic as well. Contact me if you would like more “inside” information on public education.
Chad Myers
Middle School Teacher
Life Success Coach/Consultant
Steve, it certainly is the question many are asking, but none are being heard.
I especially like the comment by D. Harris.
Since we are at critical thinking, I ask you and those on the blog to think about this:
It probably goes a lot further back, but take our last 3 Presidents which looked a lot like puppets planted by puppet masters:
Bill Clinton was a “showman” who offered little and got away with murder. Every time he did some of his outrageous stunts, one asked how this could be. To me he looked like a little boy trying to see just how far he can go and get away with it. I could see that satisfied smirk of a kid caught with hand in cookie jar but knowing that he can’t be punished. WHO was behind him? NOW = Illuminati, or?
G.W. Bush: The left called him stupid and all sorts of things, and the press left little good on him, he was demonized as liar, etc, but was it not also just staged in the good cop/ bad cop vain? was that because he, too was the puppet to the real power in the background who plays the sheeple to divide and conquer? (His father let it slip, maybe he did it to warn the sheeple when he mentioned “that we will have a “New World Order” in one of his speeches. Most likely, it was yet another perverse little game the Real Power likes to play to give little clues but just enough to make some wonder and get nervous)
0bama: now if ever there was a puppet it has to be this man and a majority of the sheeple still don’t seem to see it, although at least some are waking up. He came out of nowhere, all his records sealed, nobody knows anything about him. He can’t speak unless he reads off a teleprompter. He is clueless. He vacations, no matter what. He is simply a figure head with the NOW, or who ever it is that pulls his strings, having fun seeing just how far they can get with their puppet playing games with the masses. His puppeteers even went so far as to make him ineligible and then are having fun attacking anyone who questions anything. The people are simply pieces in their games.
It’s time to go behind the curtain and discover the engine behind the game Dorothy.
Maggie
If we do bring the troops home will you help relect the president
Steve
It is all about the love of power.. big empires have this tendency to want to remain a big empire. 100 countries is one thing, the huge numbers of american soldiers in Germany, Japan and Korea.. is even more ridiculous.
Germany: 56,000. S Korea: 37,500 Japan: 47,000…..
But as you know reducing the military buget is considered unpatriotic by most politicians, except Mc Kinnich. The US is victim of its own mythology and I am not able to be optimistic about any turn around soon… common sense becomes increasingly rare in the american government. Myth as being the “greatest nation” has to translate into massive militairy expenses, this cycle is hard to break. The US is responsible for 40% of all arms spending globally.
The wall has to turn the ship at some point. I don’t see any reduction in military spending unless forceful ,because the funds are just not there
Steve,
We will never pull out of any of these countries because the Globalists that are in charge of the USA, secretly pulling the strings, want the USA to be under their controll. Since they cant take it by military force or by influence they must resort to financial warfare. This is the bottom line and its working great. Keep us on our feet running alll over the world running down our recources and increasing our debt untill the servicing on the debt is so massive we will be forced to cut back alot more than just the military. The US currency will cease to be the reserve currency which will mean we cant print money anymore to pay the interest on the debt. The government wont be able to lie to the public to tell them we have 16 trillion dollars in government debt when we as a country have about 300 trillion in obligations including the us based banks exposure and the future liabilities to Social security. SS alone counts for 22% of all us debt future liabilities to programs we can not support including military but not limited to it by any means. Thats whats killing us the same thing thats killing UK Handouts. 52% of all people in the USA live off handouts in some way. Thats killing us. Business people are punished for being business people. But if your not productive your rewarded with a hand out. And where do the handouts come from ? The productive few.
Check out this partnership example from Porter Stansbury and see if you agree or not:
Porter Stansbury
dramatized this well:
Here’s the deal. You’re going to start a business or
expand the one you’ve got now. It doesn’t really matter
what you do or what you’re going to do. I’ll partner
with you no matter what business you’re in—as long as
it’s legal. But I can’t give you any capital—you have to
come up with that on your own.
I won’t give you any labor—that’s definitely up to you.
What I will do, however, is demand you follow all sorts
of rules about what products and services you can offer,
how much (and how often) you pay your employees, and
where and when you’re allowed to operate your business.
That’s my role in the affair: to tell you what to do.
Now in return for my rules, I’m going to take roughly
half of whatever you make in the business, each year.
Half seems fair, doesn’t it? I think so. Of course, that’s
half of your profits. You’re also going to have to pay me
about 12% of whatever you decide to pay your employees
because you’ve got to cover my expenses for promulgating
all of the rules about who you can employ, when,
where, and how. Come on, you’re my partner. It’s only
“fair.”
Now… after you’ve put your hard-earned savings at risk
to start this business and after you’ve worked hard at
it for a few decades (paying me my 50% or a bit more
along the way each year), you might decide you’d like
to cash out—to finally live the good life. Whether or not
this is “fair”—some people never can afford to retire—is
a different argument. As your partner, I’m happy for
you to sell whenever you’d like… because our agreement
says, if you sell, you have to pay me an additional 20%
of whatever the capitalized value of the business is at
that time.
I know… I know… you put up all the original capital.
You took all the risks. You put in all of the labor. That’s
all true. But I’ve done my part, too. I’ve collected 50%
of the profits each year. And I’ve always come up with
more rules for you to follow each year.Therefore, I deserve
another, final 20% slice of the business…
I’m sure you’ll think my offer is reasonable and happily
partner with me… but it doesn’t really matter how you
feel about it because if you ever try to stiff me—or cheat
me on any of my fees or rules—I’ll break down your
door in the middle of the night, threaten you and your
family with heavy, automatic weapons, and throw you
in jail. That’s how civil society is supposed to work,
right? This is Amerika, isn’t it?
That’s the offer Amerika gives its entrepreneurs. And the
idiots in Washington wonder why there are no new jobs…
To me thats the real truth. The military in other countries is simply another example of a handout. The military which I thank god for and have respect for needs the jobs.
Steve,
As a 12 year vet of the US Navy who served 5 deployments–all but one in armed conflict–I emphatically agree with you. If you saw the futility and corruption on “the other side of the fence” you’d be outraged even more. The need to support and defend our own country far outweighs our need to police and conquer others.
~JT
Steve, You are 100% right.
It is the American Empire that is debt financed. We the American people will pay more taxes and have to deal with inflation due to the increase in the base currency supply that is devaluing the dollar. Part of this is to finance our armies overseas.
Why? It is all for economic and political control.
Economic Control in the way of securing inexpensive natural resources like Oil. Why are we in Libya, Iraq and not in Darfur? Oil!
Political Control to secure the way countries vote at the UN and other international bodies combined with securing army bases to keep the status quo of living beyond our means.
This Ponzi scheme can not go on forever. There will come a time when other countries will not buy our debt. There will come a time when the tax base is not enough to support the domestic government empire and the foreign one There will come a time when the American people will have enough and not tolerate such a wasteful use of their resources.
We are about to see a reset. Ron Paul can help the situation but the reset will happen with or without him.
Ray Stendall
To understand why the US military is in all of these countries we must make a paradigm shift. This shift is severe and diametrically inverse to what we were led to think. Furthermore, the topic is huge and I can only touch on a few points.
The US dollar has been the whole reserve currency since the Bretton Woods accord in 1944. Part of that setup is that OPEC could only sell oil in dollars – Petro dollars. So the whole world had to keep a reserve of US dollars on hand in order to purchase oil from the middle-east. This kept the dollar in the eyes of many nations as being crucial for stability.
But in 2000, Saddam Hussein started selling oil in Euros, thus by-passing the dollar. If he was allowed to continue to do this then other countries would follow suit. The invasion into Iraq was to put a halt to this and show force in order to intimidate others to not do the same. Nevertheless, Libya, via Gaddafi, also started selling oil to Spain in Euros. No, no, no, said the owners of the Federal Reserve, who also own the bank of England, the HSBC (Hong Shanghai Bank Corp, owned by the British royal family), together with, of all things, the Vatican.
Now, this starts to get interesting. Remember, Washington DC is a city-state. It is sovereign. It is not part of the US at all. It has its own flag, laws and police force. The flag has 3 red stars representing: Itself, London’s Inner City, and the Vatican. One of the things (among many) they want to do, at least for now, is keep the US dollar as the world reserve currency until they say otherwise.
So, Washington DC takes the lead on military actions, Inner London (also a city-state) takes the lead on Financial actions, (by the way, the IRS takes their orders from the bank of England, not from the Congress) and the Vatican takes the lead on religious and cultural affairs.
One of the goals of the 3 stars powers is world government. To do that, they need a world military. That is… our boys and girls, mostly. At the same time, they need to cut the US down to size in terms of an economic power. On its way right now…
But there is one more thing which is quite bothersome: 1. our boys and girls are ‘over there’. They are not at home with us. They are on the other side of the planet. 2. US citizens are reporting sightings of an untold number of UN troops in the US, right now, Sept 2011. 3. US citizens are also reporting sightings of plastic coffins all over the country. Google: “fema plastic coffins”. You’ll see what I mean. Are they really coffins? Hmmm…
So, our military being constantly overseas does seems odd, but only to us. However, the other side of your question, Steve, is even more troubling: “Who will protect us here, at home?” What are they planning to do to us here, at home, in the US? Boy, how deep the rabbit hole goes …?!
Steve:
Nice work! You are asking the right questions – what most American’s are too tranced out-into fear to even think about; much less ask.
This type of questioning in my opinion, is what Critical Thinking – Running your own Mind is all about.
Keep asking – and gaining more traction with this type of challenging questions – it wakes the people up!
Love your work!
Bless YOU!
Deborah
Because the elite are after the resources of other countries. This is a game of chess now. They have all the money because we’ve adopted the fiat currency which can fund the war. If money was backed by gold or silver – do you think we could fund these wars? Fiat currency allows the government to print money out of thin air to fund whatever it is they want to. Iceland’s financial crisis is a great example. Remember, fiat currency has failed a 100% of the time; one needs only look at the past to see proof of this.
The people in power are intelligent. They understand the three legs of tyranny: control the food (Monsanto with their GMO foods), control the military (and disarm Americans) and control the money (Fed Reserve). Steve, if you have a chance, please watch the movie directed by Charles Ferguessen and narrated by Matt Damon entitled “Inside Job”. It details the engineered collapse of the American economy in order to create a shift in wealth.
Thanks,
Dr Shane Sheibani
WELL SAID! THE BEST WORLD CLASS THINKING.
Good question Steve. Also it is common knowledge that China will be the number one economic superpower within a few years. So why then when there is a major disaster or conflict in the world doesn’t China get involved? I’m not suggesting that we do not help out but why not the China or even Russia?
Steve – Critical thinking question –
Have you considered a career in politics?
They could use your critical thinking skills!