America's Nation-Building & Peace-Keeping Options

Some people appear to anguish more over their property taxes than their income taxes. It's human nature. In the case of making mortgage payments most include loan repayments, property taxes and insurance "impounds" with annual updates to cover shortages and increases. In this way, the $50 (or higher) monthly payment "bump" on our property taxes seem less severe to some. It's still $600 in annual take home pay and equates to gross salary of $1,000 BEFORE taxes and withholdings... and then there's next year and so on.

This brings us to those taxes and withholdings. By now many of us are aware that the greatest issue impacting the nature of collection and expenditure of our income taxes is the Iraq War. This is compounded by the irresponsible wealth tax cuts since 2001 which primarily benefit the top 1% of American households with $750,000 or more (much, much more) in gross income.

Until we recognize that OUR elected officials have made these choices which clearly do not reflect the majority of wants and needs of working Americans, we enable them by our votes (or lack of voting) to waste our tax dollars as they please. I'm tired of the one-night stand of broken election promises. We must demand enduring relationships for the common good.

It begins by our restored hope in America. This means our taxes are better spent on domestic priorities like security (police, fire, border patrol). It means investment in our future - kids' education K-College (or vocational education). It means healthier families with national single payer health care. It means separating our foreign and energy policies, so energy companies and oil rich countries don't dictate our future. This straightforward agenda makes America more secure and is the proto-type for other nations to be built -- a source of pride for us all.

There's an economically more feasible and enduring solution in the Middle East, which has become center stage in our media and in our lives directly or indirectly. It allows for a timely and honorable withdrawal of our troops. We acknowledge the relevancy of the United States’ and Europe's economic agenda during the past two centuries in fostering the Arab civilian anger and indignity. We accept our roles in facilitating a Euro-Arab coalition to provide conflict buffers and promote an agenda that is not solely sectarian or theocratic. Rather, it places greater emphasis on sovereign respect and something more than just human survival. This dilutes militant faction influence and emphasizes a transition to nation-state defense forces where government leaders are held accountable - not ideologies and strategies. The same could be said for the U.S. until we vote to change our leaders.

The alternative is the continued loss of American lives and diverted resources (tax dollars) and the real possibility that China, which has cultivated foreign goodwill, simply continues to expand its influence and power in many of these same Latin and Middle Eastern countries. That is not the American dream many of us fought and died to protect for our future generations.