4 Problems That Could Sink America

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The only thing the federal government should provide for its citizens are n active, functioning military and big bombs with cool fins on them that create lots of fire and destruction since they are lots of evil people in this world.
Short of that, the government needs to step away from the spending bong and sober up.
Education?
Nah. We don't have a right to one. Dead argument. Private enterprise will and can do it soooo much better. And why should geriatrics continue to pay the majority of their property taxes to it when they had kids 60 years ago? Let parents deal with that one in real time.
Fire?
A smokey bear fund and ballot initiatives for private firms we can vote on with competing bids county by county. Heck, make them companies I can even invest in like regulated utilities.
Police?
Same crap as fire.
DMV?
Do it like Montana. One registration fee, for life. Then fire all the lazy cubicle farm do-nothings at the statehouses.
I could go on and on. I really could. Bottom line. We don't need any government except a CIC who commands the military. That's it. That's all. And that's the Constitution.
Everything else is incremental madness and eventually, bankruptcy.

Wyatt Junker of CA 3:12PM February 12, 2010

I think that you are makeing a big deal out of many things that americans already know you dont know other major problems and I know of greater problems. For example my aunt is 40 and has pre-lekaumia and has two kids under the age of 8 and will be dead in less then ten yearsand her husband cant get a job so how do you expect her kids to get into a good schoool. While you complain about people being lazy so many americans work there butt for a low pay. You make it sound that all americans are lazy. Dont you think that people who are more in need should get a better chance at finding a job. /your not giving americans a chance and makeing them feel bad does not help. While yes some lazy we need to give theem a chance and help them out . Writing this article you are not helping anyone only makeing more worries when they are not needed.

Kathryn Spinek of NY 5:01PM February 10, 2010

Yes, America needs immigrants---legal immigrants!!!
It is the illegals that are one of the big factors in hurting this country. Low paying jobs and usually paid in cash(no taxes),welfare help, hospital emergency help(no health insurance so no pay),no drivers license or insurance, having babies right and left and not paying the hospital to have them, I could go on and on. The sooner this problem is addressed the better. It will help big time.

missdoris of TX 6:40PM February 08, 2010

Nephew Sam of NY: Unfortunately, your theory doesn't hold water. Sure legal immigration may stand for all you say. HOWEVER, the problem we have is allowing all the illegal immigration with generally consists of people who own nothing more than the clothes on their back and depend upon the taxpayers for everything while basically giving nothing back except a population boom.

David of TX 9:41AM January 26, 2010

Thank you Jack of VA :)

Fade of OH 8:38PM January 24, 2010

Well as long as immigration was open USA was prospering as immigrants need new houses, new toasters and new cars. This helped american industry and kept USA in a growth mode. Immigrants are not a burden, they come in with their savings and skills and pay taxes just like all other americans for the government services they get. its not like they live in US for free for five years until they start work and jobs.
Open but quality Immigration is what has helped Canada, Australia, UK and middle east countries to have high growth over the last decade.
People are afraid of immigration because they are afraid of losing their jobs to more competent people.

Nephew Sam of NY 9:14AM January 24, 2010

I think the problem in America today is the over biased tendency to favor an unregulated hoarding of wealth into a few hands. It was fun for a while, but now the middle and lower class are being left with very little.
Its a fact that we are producing a lot of millionaires while at the same time many are falling from the middle into the lower class. Why? Well obviously the laws are biased to favor the ones making more money. A ridiculously low minimum wage, hardly affordable insurance premiums, a pump-it and dump-it labor environment where the older people get the shaft and there's little if any protection from the law, an unregulated part-time labor extravaganza where companies systematically employ people for fewer hours just to avoid giving any benefits such as health insurance.
I think its time to balance the playing field a little, but Congress doesn't currently care about average citizens. They're more interested in partisan "battles" of whoever has the biggest balls wins. Shameful. Nothing gets done, in fact, I don't remember anything getting done since the infamous Patriot Act and then the forced TARP bailout for billionaire bankers.

Shh of CA 5:51AM January 24, 2010

Europeans get 30 days vacation, 20 holidays, PAID maternity leave, a shorter work week, and extensive health care coverage. French citizens are guaranteed lifetime employment.
Americans are not lazy. The average American work week is 42.5 hours; most workers are afraid to call in sick, take a day off or go on vacation because it looks like they are not dedicated to their jobs. Most Europeans work to live, not live to work and there is nothing wrong with that. Try and do business in Europe in August and you will find that everyone is on vacation.
Our manufacturing base eroded because overseas labor costs are ridiculously low and the factory owners follow cheap labor. Clothing, a labor intensive product to manufacture, was made in the New England area. The factories moved farther south, closer to and into the Cotton Belt over the decades, then to the Caribbean area, Mexico, Asia, and now China. Our factory workers were just as skilled, just as hard working, but they needed and wanted a decent paycheck, a living wage. Each time the manufacturing centers moved, they found labor that was cheaper, living at a lower standard. When that labor pool became prosperous and raised their standards, the work moved on to other areas, some with slave labor.
The US Government favored big firms over family farms forcing down the price of food while increasing efficiency and releasing a larger pool of labor for factory work. Now we have little factory work and our farmers are corporate employees on factory farms which also feed the world.
We have dumbed down our schools' curricula, tried too many experimental teaching methods rather than keeping with what works and bringing everyone else up to higher and tougher standards.
We are a nation of immigrants whose great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, came here for the opportunity to have the best for their children and grandchildren; to escape repression, experience freedom to choose. Why should we not expect the best? It is in our blood, our genes.

Jack of VA 3:30PM January 23, 2010

Just put their enormous costs on America's giant credit card! Who cares! After all, we're all immigrants.

John Novak of IL 3:47AM January 23, 2010

Thanks for highlighting how lazy Americans have become. I teach middle school and I see it so clearly in my students -- they don't do homework, don't read, don't study for tests, etc., and often their parents make excuses for them!
I actually had two parents threaten to sue me for giving their son an "Unsatisfactory" in work habits because he was missing 29 assignments for the semester!
I truly believe the deterioration of the American work ethic will bring our quality of life to its knees long before global warming does.

jkt of CA 9:13PM January 22, 2010