IT IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

IT IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

“No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session.”
Mark Twain

Mark Twain was right back then and is even more correct today. Federal, state and county representatives have all lengthened the time they are in session. The number of executive orders, regulations, laws, statues, rules, directives and ordinances are being spewed out as fast as the federal government can print money.

Each of these ever increasing new directives from all levels of government limit citizen’s freedom to make choices. Every new law, rule, statute, ordinance and license is sold to the public by stating it is for the good of everyone. When a person protests the absurdity to the appropriate government bureaucrat, he smugly says, “It is for your own good.”

This means you have to go through a body x-ray scanner or wait in a long line to get an intrusive pat-down even if you are a six-year-old child or a frail, hunched 92- year-old woman in a wheelchair. These procedures are supposed to protect the public but are training us to be sheeple who accept less and less freedom. An owner has to purchase an expensive license for his dog or the animal control bureaucrat will take it. You must obtain permits for everything from building a garage to changing out a window to painting a room on your own property.

An example of the invasion into our lives of the federal government is the new EPA statute RRP (Renovation, Repair and Paint) to insure lead free houses. It spells out procedures that require government personnel with overkill equipment to do ordinary repairs that could be done by the homeowner. These onerous requirements increase the price of repairs to the point where the project is abandoned or done without permits. The fine attached to doing one’s own work is $32,500. They are undermining personal initiative to upgrade one’s own property.

This totally disregards an individual’s property rights. This denial of our improving our homes is a trampling of our freedom. These insulting acts are supposed to protect a future homebuyer as if a purchaser cannot be trusted to make a rational evaluation when purchasing the home.

Even our property is no longer sacred including our “castle”- home. The new interpretation of the eminent domain law is allowing individual property to be taken solely to increase the revenue of a particular taxing entity. This ruling should frighten every hard working American who has invested his earnings in property although it will make every big-government politician ecstatic.

Year after year everyone has to pay more taxes except for those who fall below a certain level of income. According to government proponents, these people with low income or none at all should be cared for by the government as it sees fit. This burdens taxpaying citizens with subsidizing deadbeats, More direct taxes like federal, state, county or city taxes are used for providing more services even if we do not want them or use them. The government on all levels is increasing its political power and territory on the backs of productive citizens.

The government representatives on many levels passed all sorts of deceptive bills to take your money to give it to others. One of these laws established without public knowledge was the “earned income tax credit.” There are many rationalizations for government picking your pocket. This tax credit is a creative way of marketing a person who is on the government dole. This tax credit is certainly not “earned by the recipient” as he is not working or has a low paying position with limited responsibility and effort but it is couched in capitalistic jargon. Currently 47% of all Americans are paying 0 in federal income tax.

The government representatives in their infinite wisdom decide to redistribute your money. The tax collector’s bosses have the audacity to name this thievery: “earned income tax credit.” The less than ambitious and lazy are rewarded. This bizarre logic is politically correct in this country now while not wanting to reward the unemployed is selfish and politically incorrect.

The remedy to this upside down world is for us to vote out any representative wanting to increase the size of government. It means Americans will have to be more self-reliant in meeting their own needs for their own good instead of wanting to be dependent on government.

Benjamin Franklin told citizens about their Constitution after it had passed; “We have given you a republic, if you can keep it.” Keeping our Constitution means we have to be eternally vigilant against politicians clinging to power by selling their integrity.

Americans have to decide. If they want to remain a free Constitutional Republic, something must give. A bloated government that promises to give you everything has to take everything. Government does not produce any wealth but certainly knows how to waste it.

Either we shrink government for the good of the people or government will control every aspect of our lives. The answer is up to us. What direction we choose for government will determine our national destiny and the future of our children and grandchildren.



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

BASIC, NOT NEW AGE MATH WILL SAVE THE U.S.A.

BASIC, NOT NEW AGE MATH WILL SAVE THE U.S.A.
By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

We are living in a new age where everything we once believed in is being replaced by modern thinking. Our culture has been turned upside down. Good is bad, credit debt is fashionable while saving is nothing more than hoarding and attempting to balance the budget is a radical political agenda.

Americans were very frugal, always saving a portion of their money no matter how little their income. A substantial savings account meant the person was stable. Things have changed.

Four decades ago we were taught that we needed to establish a good credit line. We had to buy things on time. It was like credit without a credit card. The modern businessman maximizes the using of other people’s money in order to expand more quickly. The greater the assets acquired, even with large debt, the more impressed the modern financial official is and the more likely the borrower will get the loan.

Our federal government under both political parties has accepted and resorted to this new way of thinking to enlarge the presence of the federal government. They have gone a step further in adopting a new age math to justify spending without financial assets to cover it. President George W. Bush passed a large prescription drug benefit program and got involved in two wars without funding them. President Obama has increased the federal deficit in the first two years by $3 trillion under the guise of stimulus. The double talking new age math is once again on tour with President Obama speaking with local television media across the nation to sell a budget that does not add up numerically in basic math.

The basic math number crunching has reared its head. Standard and Poore, the premier credit agency in the nation, has applied old math concepts to lower the long-term economic outlook from “stable” to “negative” in the U.S.A. People who believe math is black and white applaud the S&P’s caution while fuzzy math proponents downplayed or just disregarded it. The administration’s answer to the pending economic catastrophe is to increase taxes and manipulate numbers to arrive at a politically advantageous bottom line.

Both political parties use this deceptive math. We have learned we cannot believe either one. The Republican speaker of the house, John Boehner, said he was going to decrease federal spending by $100 billion, then it was $62.3 billion, then dropped to $38.7 billion. This supposed “cut” actually turned out to be only $352 million, not billion. Under Bush and Obama inflation was calculated by not factoring in two of the most important variables: food and gas. This means we are now at 2.7% inflation using this formula but when you add in these two items it is more realistically at 9.7%

President Obama accepted the supposed $38.7 billion compromise with the Republican, Boehner saying that it is a cut in his budget over the next 12 years and would account for $750 billion in savings. However, the old math of multiplying the two numbers $38.7 times 12 would give you $464.4 billion. The difference between the two figures is $285.6 billion, a significant sum even today.

The new age math is most conspicuous in its confusion when assessing the unemployment numbers in the United States. People not actively seeking a job are not considered unemployed under the present system of calculating the rate. Added to these convenient assumptions are two different surveys.

The CES, Current Employment Statistical, survey is based on 400,000 businesses and the much smaller sample of the CPS, Current Population Survey, uses a sample of 60,000 households. The CPS counts as employed unpaid family workers, self employed, private household workers and workers absent without pay. It is ridiculous to include the last two categories as employed.

These two different services have computer models with different assumptions and arrive at different rates. This mish mash of numbers leads to the unbelievable rate drop to 8.8% unemployment while the growth of new jobs remains below the level necessary to decrease the unemployment rate.

Aware Americans that can do basic math have had it. We know every time we go to the grocery store or pump gas that the inflation rate is rapidly rising. We know from our local communities that the unemployment rate is roughly twice the stated rate. We know that our national debt is $14.3 TRILLION and rising because of government expansion, inefficiency and corruption. Most importantly we know increasing the already outrageous high level of taxes will cause job losses and increase the size of government and our debt.

The answer to this insane spending is employing basic math concepts and by doing the following.
Congress needs to demand a balanced budget.
Employ zero budgeting to develop internal accountability and justification of all programs.
Streamline and eliminate programs that duplicate services and encourage “lazy people programs”- like food stamps for college students.
Cut out corporate welfare and their tax loopholes.
Fire people without hesitation for incompetence, corruption or not performing their duties like sleeping on the job.
Tax the 40% of citizens not paying any federal income tax no matter how anemic the amount. Everyone has to have skin in the game.

No matter how much finagling of numbers is attempted, 2 + 2 = 4. New age, fuzzy, deceptive math has to be exposed by educated people in this country or we will wake up with an economic catastrophe and a Chinese dictator calling the shots.



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT HAS SHAFTED CHILDREN

THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT HAS SHAFTED CHILDREN
By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist


The Women’s Liberation Movement as all government engineering was supposed to benefit everyone. The promises for women were going to be more independent and fulfilled. Men were going to get more in touch with their feminine side and have less stress. Children were to have happier parents and be provided with a more affluent life style.

Leaving aside the effect of the destructive explosion of single parent families on children, the intact two-parent family is suffering as well. One of the numerous unintended consequences of the radical shift in our culture is the lack of time and energy parents have to be involved with their children. Both parents are supposed to become independent people who usually have different hobbies, exercise schedules, employment obligations and commitments. The responsibilities of raising the children are supposed to shared as equally as possible. The problem is neither one has enough hours in the day to raise their children properly.

Coming to the rescue of these parents are “professionals for hire.” The traditional nanny for the rich is still around to bail out the parents although a host of new options appeared on the scene to meet specific needs of over committed parents. .

Maria Zimmitti, Washington, D.C., child psychologist, is one of many professionals who realized that potty training is a new goldmine. Parents understanding that to satisfy the requirements of the best preschool programs, while reaching a normal milestone of healthy children, potty training has to be accomplished. Parents are panicking that their children will be labeled for not being trained and they do not have the time or competency to complete training on their own.

In the 1950s 90% of children were potty trained by 18 months. Today’s mothers are less motivated to potty train a child with the advent of “pull-ups” that allow mothers to avoid the hassles of washing diapers. Furthermore, the women’s liberation movement has shamed mothers into working outside the home. This makes it less necessary and convenient to accomplish this task.

Besides potty training, today’s parents do not have quantity time to pass on many other necessary skills. Proper speech, morals, perseverance, manners, truthfulness, fine and gross motor skills and a host of other necessities are not being taught by parents in the family home. Parents are absent far too much.

There are many professional specialists who can fill in the voids but at a great cost financially and emotionally. The child’s natural inclination to admire his parents is undermined by the need to chauffer him from one authority figure to another. These experts can compensate for the lack of involvement the parents can provide but the parents lose the magic power of being adored. At best parents can be friends although they can rarely reach the height of inspiring the child the way traditional parents could.

The pre-liberation parents were unavoidable. The mothers were in the home all day and the fathers were intense in their roles when they arrived home after work.
Their power and control was not diluted by other authority figures. Children were trained almost exclusively by their parents. The extended family might chip in but parents had veto power even over them.

Parents were either loved or hated, in both cases the responsibility and commitment were undisputed as well as the impact. Once the children became parents themselves they were socially forced to grow up. They could not remain perennial teenagers; they had to change their life style according to society for the sake of raising healthy children. Parents were expected to be mature enough to remain married even after romantic love faded. The raising of the children fell on the shoulders of the parents not on professionals, the school or the state.

Modern children are no longer protected by societal norms or prepared by the family. Adults, especially females, have a new set of problems with multiple marriages, relationships, blended families and less commitment. The sense of failure, as compared to their parents who seemed to hold things together better, is far greater. The missing ingredient with parents today is their low tolerance for personal sacrifice, which could impede their unrealistic expectations.

The real losers in our modern world are our children. The number of mental disorders, poor school achievement and gender confusion has skyrocketed. American children are weaker physically and mentally.

Without revitalizing motherhood and strong fathers in the family children will continue to be harmed. Both parents involved in everyday problems produce better solutions than one harried parent can. The two gender perspective creates a better balanced child.

Once a child is out of the norm, all the specialists and experts in Johnny’s life cannot put Johnny together again. It is best for the child to have two healthy, involved parents than to have liberated parents each going their own way, having the children raised by others.



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS ROB THE SPIRIT

RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS ROB THE SPIRIT
By Domenick Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

A government to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.
Thomas Jefferson

FDR believed and Obama believes that the government should and could provide guaranteed rights to its citizens. These rights will be granted without any responsibility preconditions, reservations or repayment. These rights were not endowed by our Creator as envisioned by our founding fathers. Instead they are decreed through the power of the government. Thus any other government would have the same power to reinterpret and even deny any rights.

The rights that have been proposed are not limited to the following list. The right to a useful and well paying job or years of unemployment insurance, the right to adequate food and clothing, the right to vacations, the right to a substantial home, the right to a college education, the right to a spouse, a right to divorce, a right to abortion, a right to health care regardless of mistreating oneself.

Our founding father’s legacy was the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These rights are endowed by our Creator. They did not relieve citizens of being responsibly self-reliant. Instead they restricted the federal government’s power to maximize citizen’s freedoms. These learned men understood that people can better use their energies to provide for themselves than can any bureaucrat.

The USA has a $14.3 trillion debt and growing. We are on the brink of national bankruptcy. We have seen politicians from both parties make ridiculous promises but do not have the courage to lay out a plan to pay for them. Watch out for anyone whose promises sound too good because they usually are. The “smart “ politician grants a new give away program but makes sure the payment will kick in well after he is reelected or leaves office. Our country’s debt is placing our sovereignty in jeopardy due to the cowardice of our politicians. Jefferson stated that debt was the greatest danger to America’s survival.

These entitlement programs, because of inefficiencies, unintended consequences and corruption always cause budgets to go beyond the original estimates. As more people are unable or unwilling to find employment the need for public assistance grows. Almost 50% of Americans receive some sort of government assistance. The “safety net” and other government handouts are becoming an acceptable way of existing in America. For a growing number of people working for a living will become of little value when taxes almost equal earnings.

Motivation to be industrious loses to idleness when people’s earnings are robbed by the government. When revenue from taxes falls with a drop in the number of people in the private sector and the dependency of more people on the dole, services are diluted to meet the higher demand. Quality and choice of services are inevitably limited by the reality of a dying economy.

The lines become longer, the services poorer and expectations become more fatalistic. Citizens are reluctant to give up their right to free services and learn to accept mediocrity. Week by week, month-by-month, year by year the spirit for life is sucked dry. They become hopeless and helpless.

People surrender their independence to better their lives for the miserable handouts they receive from government. Empty shelves, lack of choice and drabness become acceptable, the norm. Self-reliance and faith in God are replaced by a numbness of the spirit.

Some individuals somehow believe the answers to improve their lives rests with the government bureaucrats even though the government fails time after time to meet their promises. Propaganda, alcohol and drugs will increase to dull the pain. They lose the knowledge that they can accomplish anything they want as long as they are willing to pay the price. There is little urge to be free.

This is the final step in the process of people willing to give up their freedom for false promises and security. It is not a forced slavery but it becomes slavery nevertheless.

Americans, wake up sooner rather then later. Socialism/communism makes for ungrateful, psychologically weak and spiritless citizens who have sold their souls to the government.



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

A DIFFERENCE MAKER; HONESTY IN EDUCATION

A DIFFERENCE MAKER; HONESTY IN EDUCATION

by Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist



Almost everyone is aware that American education is in deplorable condition. No matter how much tax money we throw at the problem, which exceeds $1 trillion since 1980, it worsens. We are bombarded by articles and television reports that we are falling behind other nations in reading, science and math proficiency.

Too many Americans may be conscious of the overall pathetic condition of U.S. schools but remain supportive of their own child’s education. This phenomenon is similar to the one where the public is dissatisfied with government representation in congress but keep on voting for their local one. It appears as long as our leaders are likeable, smooth liars they can continue to do an atrocious job with impunity.



Local educators need to be held accountable for the results of their actions, not their ability to sound sincere with their excuses and doubletalk. Administrators and teachers should be judged by each child’s development as a learner. This means teachers should be accountable for the child mastering what is being taught before he can advance.



Parents have to be actively involved not in assisting the child with his homework but being informed by the child what he is actually doing each day. The child has to be held responsible to discuss daily at least one thing he has learned that makes him a better student. Parental focus should emphasize what is being taught not “is my child happy and being treated fairly?”



Even though the child has a sterling report card, denial by the parent of what they see with their eyes does not solve anything. Parents are being dishonest with themselves. This refusal to act just delays and worsens the results in reading comprehension, composition or math. Parents have to trust their intuition if there is a difference between what they see and hear directly from the child and what the report card states. A report card without integrity means the school is being dishonest to students and parents.



Students should be sufficiently trustworthy and responsible to actually tell the truth. A child receiving high (inflated) grades when unable to show skills and knowledge in academic subjects at home should alert the parent that there is a problem in school. The reason for this has to be determined immediately. Something is wrong and a conference should be made.



The simplest answer might lie with the child. He might be unwilling to show the parent the new skills he has learned in school. An appointment with the teacher would provide evidence that he has or has not mastered these skills. The child withholding his knowledge from the parent has a problem with obedience. This issue is an internal one that needs to be handled in the family with parents demanding the child be compliant with their wishes. Eliminating this game at home early will make things easier in the future.



However, a discrepancy between good grades and poor performance is a serious breach of trust by the school. Ignoring or accepting excuses for this practice will only perpetuate the harming of the student. Grade inflation, a system wide fraud has to be exposed. Only half of students entering college graduate even though the U.S. has the third highest per capita education expenditure worldwide. Our present educational system is undermining the development of students, our future leaders.



An education that pretends to be assisting a student to reach the height of his potential and does just the opposite has to be held accountable. Delaying the forming of good skills and habits while allowing and encouraging bad ones will do irreparable damage to the character and learning of the individual.


Our education administrators and teachers have to at least share their knowledge with their students and parents. Not to be transparent with either may be easier than providing an accurate evaluation but it will undermine the student’s education. Students not corrected for their poor habits and skills will reach a critical point where it becomes next to impossible to cultivate better ones.


Weak and uninvolved parents who are unwilling to believe their own eyes encourage the widespread abuse of student’s false “high self-esteem.” Dishonest parents who choose to be appeased with smooth talk and false evaluations are in store for a nasty shock. The ultimate victim is the student. When their child cannot qualify for or compete in college they are devastated and bitter.


Functioning adults who live with their children have no excuses to play dumb if their child is unprepared for higher education. A parent who observes her children playing video games or socializing on Facebook at all hours of the day and night should realize they are going to have gaps in their learning. Children who do not spend time reading books, writing compositions and doing higher level math at home are probably not being prepared for college.

It is the responsibility of the parent to be actively involved in monitoring not only the child’s daily academic work but also the yearly academic growth. This means the parent has to be aware of the teacher’s and the school’s goals for the child. The parents need to assess if the goals have been met. Parents should expect their children to make continuous progress during the year.

The questioning of the child and the school by the parents keeps everyone on their toes. Reliable communication by everyone including the child will improve the quality of education in America. Anything less for our children will hurt all of us. Any person who is less than he could be is a drag, or worse a burden on the family and eventually on the nation. The real losers are the child and the country.

I DESERVE IT. I WANT IT NOW.

I DESERVE IT. I WANT IT NOW.
By Domenick J. Maglio, PhD Traditional Realist

Our materialistic culture has turned too many Americans into instant gratifiers. As the J.G. Wentworth television advertisement blares with people yelling out the windows, “it is my money and I want it now.” People believe they have the immediate right to whatever they want. We have encouraged people to develop inflated egos that do not allow any space for gratitude and empathy. The “Me Generation” now should be called the “Charlie Sheen generation,” which has contaminated the entire society.

People who only focus on themselves have difficulty contributing anything to others. They can be good consumers meeting their personal wants but possess a poor sense of duty.

This inability to learn from reality starts early. Our children have been raised to be self-centered and self-absorbed. As youngsters they have received whatever they want before even asking for it. There is no need to earn or save. These modern day princes and princesses are not being prepared for the sacrifices needed for starting out at the bottom in employment, raising a family and hardships that arise in the journey through life. They have no internal reality check.

Our younger generation is being robbed by not having honest evaluations given by authority figures and peers. These evaluations often shock a person into seeing his shortcomings. This straightforward feedback becomes an opportunity for improvement and maturity. The policy of all participants receiving a trophy, grade inflation and political correctness is stifling the development of strong, resilient individuals.

The high self-esteem proponents such as many educators and mental health professionals will be exposed as destructive dimwits. People of any age who are given praise and rewards without earning them are being weakened and harmed by junk science. They have no idea that thinking oneself great does not make it so

Instant gratification has been a syndrome of the offspring of the uber rich but America, on all socio- economic levels is now infested with this ailment. The baby boomers, to our youth, rich to poor all believe they are entitled to other people’s assets. Dignity, humility and honor are disappearing while taking advantage and handouts are becoming customary in our nation’s long period of prosperity.

An economic correction is coming or has already begun, with higher inflation caused by our unsustainable debt. The jig is up. Individuals either adapt to harder economic times by making do or become disappointed and bitter with their decreased purchasing power in a much more challenging time.

The silver lining in difficult times is that people learn to appreciate the important things in life. They turn towards God, family and respect for others. Increasing savings becomes a necessity that requires delaying of gratification. This working and waiting to get what a person wants increases appreciation for the object that is finally obtained and decreases the urge for envy and greed. It weeds out the mentally spoiled from the grateful survivors.

There are too many pathetic “Charlie Sheens” of the world who are becoming disillusioned people. They range from complaining about not getting the customary bonus, to being laid off, paying a high mortgage on a house too big for their income, or a PhD. begging on the street who is unwilling to take a job below his educational expectations. Phony self-esteem is based on an entourage telling a person how great he is. Our outrageous childrearing, education and media celebrity worship have been perpetrators in this hideous act. Many of us have been affected by this culture of believing we deserve more than we have.

Everyone on earth faces some form of suffering. The greater an individual’s self-importance and expectations, the harder it is to handle the pain of life. Arrogance limits the ability for appreciating the contribution of others and our country to their personal success.

The inevitable economic downturn will cleanse us of our overinflated egos. Just like Charlie Sheen and many other delusional celebrities have experienced their audience turns its back on them when they are unable to handle the adversity the celebrities have brought on themselves. Our lack of appreciation for what we have been given is coming to an end.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and the weak fall apart. The tough fight for survival while the entitlement brats demand others do for them instead of doing for themselves. The over-inflated-ego people demanding others meet their needs will fall on deaf ears. These somewhat talented, self-promoting and self- absorbed people eventually expose themselves as mentally shallow and spiritually unhealthy souls. The audience shrinks as they see the person for what he is.

No one deserves anything. We can only work for something and be thankful for the opportunity to do so. Honorable people understand their lives are blessed not that “they deserve it. “



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

COMPASSION CANNOT COME FROM GOVERNMENT

COMPASSION CANNOT COME FROM GOVERNMENT

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD., Traditional Realist



A person with compassion is someone who gives something of himself. This voluntary act can be in the form of kindness, time or money. Whatever is given to another has to be the person’s to give. A government official telling another person to do something to assist someone else is merely using his power with public resources. It is not in any way a compassionate act.



A government official making a decision to disregard or bend the rule of law is not being charitable. Arbitrarily picking who is eligible for a handout while denying others is an abuse of his position and a waste of government funds.



Two million dollar lottery winner, Leroy Fick, was told by a Michigan bureaucrat that he was entitled to continue using his food stamp card. Mr. Fick complained to a reporter that he only received $850,000 after taxes and that the free food he chose to accept only added up to $200 per month. He expressed it was not unethical or immoral to take this assistance since the state said it was legal. With a smirk on his face he said he was not gaming the system, he was just getting what was his.



Government does not seem to have any compassion for the 53% of the citizens who pay taxes but certainly seems to have a lot for the 47% who do not pay taxes. In two years the food stamp program has jumped almost 20%. One out of every 7 Americans is receiving food stamps. There are 44.2 million recipients of the program, many, like Leroy Fick and affluent college students, have no shame in fleecing the system.



Our national flood insurance program, NFIP, is not another government program assisting in time of an emergency. It is another boondoggle of government encouraging stupidity. This program has grown to cover 5 million people. It has encouraged people to build on coastal and flood prone areas like the Mississippi. The charge for the insurance is artificially low for high-risk areas and is being subsidized by everyone else. The NFIP is more than $18 billion in debt. One billion dollars has been paid to 10,000 properties that have experienced two or more flood losses. This is not insurance but another give away program for often affluent people who choose to take a risk and live in a flood prone area yet expect to be bailed out when the inevitable happens.



The infamous Bell, California debacle where local government officials awarded each other exorbitant 6 figure salaries is not isolated to this locale. Government workers are making almost double that of the private sector employees when you factor in the benefit packages. In many local communities throughout the United States, audits are showing over 20% of the employees are cheating by making their hours greater than they have really worked. Falsifying time on the job is a crime. This cozy: “I scratch your back, by voting for you and you will go easy on my workload, evaluation and infractions,” is epidemic throughout the nation.



Employees who choose to view pornography, send it to others or shop on the Internet while working on the job are committing more than indiscretions. These are unethical behaviors. When a government worker is performing personal business from his office while on the payroll time clock, it is more than merely unethical, it is stealing from us, the taxpayers.



A private employer who allows one of his workers to break the rules of his business is putting his business in jeopardy. He will absorb the financial loss and personal hassles. This decision is his to make since he is the one who will suffer the consequences of money out of his pocket or possible loss of the business. These real business consequences in the private sector do not exist for a government official.



When a bureaucrat does not address his subordinate’s misbehavior it is more than just being a “nice guy” to his good-old-boy network. It teaches others they can also beat the system without any personal ramifications. In the private sector employee disregard of the rules often leads to being fired and prosecuted, while in government it becomes a contagious behavior, an example of “beating the system.” This dereliction of duty snowballs into higher taxes, which eventually results in undermining faith in government.



A government supervisor excusing misbehavior of fellow workers may appear to the delinquent party to be “compassionate’ to him but he is not sacrificing anything of his own. It is politically expedient to avoid a confrontation that would produce enemies. By being a “nice guy” with the deceitful one he gains allegiance from his staff. The official will talk tough to the media if the allegations become public but will do nothing. It is the average citizen whose taxes increase to pay for these inefficient workers that are the victims.



A government official who turns a blind eye to infractions of subordinates should not be considered compassionate since it is the citizen’s money, not his, that is being wasted. Not following the law in dealing with unethical, immoral or illegal behavior of his subordinates is not being kind hearted, it is being an accomplice to unacceptable or even criminal behavior.

Political positions such as commissioners and heads of agencies should be questioned by the public about what actions they have taken for transgressions by the people they are supervising. We cannot continue to excuse these incompetent, or worse, greedy managers. We need to hold them accountable. Ignoring unethical or criminal behavior cannot be dismissed. Citizens can no longer afford to be abused under the guise of phony politicians use of compassion.

Compassion comes from people voluntarily helping people like we have seen in the recent tornadoes and the floods . Compassion is not a politician declaring taxpayer’s money be used indiscriminately, given to some and not to others to win political favor.

VALUE DEFICIT CHILDREN DEVOID OF SPIRIT

VALUE DEFICIT CHILDREN DEVOID OF SPIRIT

By Domenick J. Maglio, PhD. Traditional Realist

Far too many children are being left without sufficient loving support to understand how to interpret the reality surrounding then. They are alone, unprepared and unprotected to handle the random and unpredictable events of existence.

Their parents are over extended in time and energy to meet their ever increasing material expectations. They are driven to better "the Joneses." The children that come along are treated to the latest fads on their parent's prosperity trip although they receive a minimal amount of their actual presence.

This means children have the best things money can buy except the time and loving involvement of their own parents.

Our modern existence has left our children to be raised in a virtual world. The dolls, gadgets, television shows, DVDs and electronic toys become like close family members. They are shaped by the mannerisms, reactions to events and values taught by the electronic babysitters. They become emotional zombies, slaves to their devices. When they place themselves in a trance with their electric world, their minds are disconnected from the real world around them, which keeps them in their virtual reality.

At times a human custodian may enter and leave the child's existence, often in the form of a nanny, daycare worker, or a friend of the family. There is little continuity in the interaction of this string of people and definitely no intensity in the teaching of values. Caretakers have to be cautious not to step on the parental toes. The child loses out on the lost teachable moment that would have established a way of dealing with a similar situation. Children are devoid of values that anchor them in time and space.

A valueless world is a negative world. It is a frightening world. To hide their fear, children employ either an eagerness to please or arrogance and nastiness to keep others at a distance. Sex, drugs and gangsta rap seem like escapes in a world without real heroes and goodness. It is a world where good is bad and bad is good, where sex and drug addiction make people feel good even though it is short lived and often sinful. Being a victim or a bully is cool while being honorable and self-reliant is negative. Positive attitudes are "corny and fake." Depression and ugliness are real and authentic. The "goth look" is proof that misery loves company in a world without positive role models.

False high self-esteem does not inoculate mangled souls from suffering. These fragile youngsters do compare themselves with healthy children who radiate competency and genuine positive self-acceptance. This reality cannot be denied by even the most adamant hater of wholesomeness.

No matter how many expensive things their parents have purchased for these value deficit children, they still will harbor bitterness towards them. They are isolated from intimacy that comes from honest feedback to shield and guide the child through life's obstacles. These children may not be able to articulate it but they sense their inadequacies.

Although they are dependent on their parents for their material things, just below the surface they resent the superficial relationship they have with them. The children were never taught to earn their privileges. Consequently, for good or bad, actions were overlooked as it is easier to appease a child then to train him. The child learns that complaining and nagging will get him what he wants quickly. As the child gets older, this is harder to reverse and marks him as obnoxious.

Not being taught to wait for things one wants or even earn them results in less appreciation of the item. Asking and receiving anything and everything one wants decreases the value. "Easy come, easy go,” says it all in a world of affluence.

Instant gratification is a powerful motivator to keep a child in a virtual world. But delayed gratification trumps instant gratification in the real world. The fight for getting what one wants heightens the value as there is more of the person invested in it.

The lack of learning the art of intimacy with their parents and deprivation of having the availability of peers to interact with in person leaves them clueless in establishing and maintaining real friendships. Understandably they turn to pretend friends online. Celebrity worship and reality television shows supposedly teach them how to interact in social situations. The unrealistic, choreographed reality show produces a young viewer who wants to be another sociopath lying his way to stardom

These insecure and untested children do the best than can do to present themselves as they think others would like them to be. They create an alter ego by falsifying who they really are. Self-centered children are at a loss as to who they are because they have never had the opportunity to be defined by the people who love them- their parents.

These poor souls do not learn to appreciate their unique blessings. Their energy is expended pretending to be something they are not instead of absorbing the spiritual energy around them.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

PRINCIPALS NEED TO BE ALLOWED TO LEAD

PRINCIPALS NEED TO BE ALLOWED TO LEAD

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist



School districts in America are not only too large but so are the individual schools. In the 1950s there were political and economic reasons for moving away from manageable local schools. Consolidation of political power and economy of scale, not excellence of education were the driving forces. Public education became a gravy train for community leaders rather than economical quality education.



As U.S. schools became unmanageable monstrosities, the administrative bureaucracies and educational specialists ballooned. At the same time the local principal's autonomy diminished. Recruiting, hiring, training, inspiring were parceled out to specialists. Principals became the figurehead of these large facilities. Their power was no longer derived from being the head of the school but from the relationship they cultivated with the superintendent of the school district and local leaders.



The autonomous power of the principal has to be restored to improve the academic quality of our schools. He/she has to primarily remain in the school rather than travel from one conference training seminar or committee assignment to another. Without his presence on the school grounds, the principal loses the necessary knowledge and opportunities to lead.



The principal is the person officially charged with ensuring the highest level of functioning of the school. The head of any group communicates the vision, establishes the rules and procedures while keeping everyone on the same page. He has to keep his finger on the entire school community's pulse to insure its health.



Principals should investigate incidents on the spot to determine the proper cause of action. Student, teacher and parent conflicts have to be justly and quickly resolved in order to keep the harmony. When the person in charge is out of the loop his effectiveness is limited. In modern public schools, principals for the most part are outside of the school building looking in.



Without the power and accessibility of administering the school, the dignity of the position is undermined. The principal becomes nothing more than a figurehead and lackey of the superintendent's policies and whims. He no longer exercises his own judgment, convictions and authority in decisions concerning the school. His major focus is weighing his actions in the political reality he faces. He is stripped of his professional integrity along with his passion and strength to develop a quality program.



The position as head of a school should automatically come with the authority to call the shots according to his and the community’s educational viewpoint. He needs power to create an organization by picking and choosing the right staff to carry out his vision. His discussions on policies and curriculum should shape the school philosophy.



The philosophical ideas of the principal should guide him in his interactions with students, teachers and parents. As his convictions are shared with others his professional reputation will be shaped giving him the clarity to arrive at hard decisions. There is no reason he should look over his shoulder to appease anyone to maintain his position. Instead, it is the merit of his performance that would decide his fate.



The local community, parents and students, the consumers, will be the evaluators. His conscientious effort will allow him time to grow into the leader of the school. The uniting of the school community and school programs he has helped to create establishes his personal involvement and investment in the school.



The passion for his task of improving the learning community will naturally result in celebrating accomplishments of students, teachers and parents. His leadership will inspire his staff to do the little things necessary to improve the educational process.



This commitment to his creation motivates him to think of appropriate ways to help liberate students from their lack of enthusiasm to become independent learners. As students become more involved with their education they take ownership of it to become the best they can be.



Each successful principal has his/her own way of reaching this goal but every one is like an orchestra leader bringing out the best in each member of the educational community. The course of study may be unique in different settings although all excellent learning environments will teach the students that they will be required to make sacrifices to successfully reach their well thought out goals. They will learn they have to delay immediate gratification, which is a difficult but mature decision.



It is the role modeling established under the guidance of the principal that is the crucial ingredient. From dedicated teachers- to supportive parents- to conscientious students- to supportive staff, any can be the person who will say the right thing at the perfect time to heighten the awareness of the students concerning the importance of doing their studies with focus and enthusiasm.



It is the principal who builds this system that can miraculously unleash the power to energize the student to be in control of his learning and future success.





Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

TRUE INDEPENDENCE REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE

TRUE INDEPENDENCE REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE
By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Americans are not stupid, they are just preoccupied with their personal lives. This is the excuse most of us use for our family and friends who are unable to connect the dots concerning our nation being on the brink of insolvency. The evidence is overwhelming.

Medicare, Medicaid, interest on our debt and now Obamacare are inflating our debt at a disastrous rate. These non-discretionary programs are consuming 76% of every tax dollar. By 2020, if we do not implode before, it will increase to 92%. Not immediately addressing non-discretionary spending will end America as we know it. Our national monthly debt is currently more than the entire annual deficit of 2007.

This safety net was put into place during the FDR era. It is on course to balloon into a comprehensive welfare state. We certainly knew that social security back in the 1960s and probably when it was initiated was a Ponzi scheme. Our unemployment insurance has grown to a two year benefit, 47% of citizens do not pay any federal income taxes, the number of people on Medicaid has skyrocketed, Obamacare is a boondoggle and the baby boomers are entering social security overwhelming the system. Too many Americans are expecting the government to take care of them. This mentality is not the self-reliance of capitalism but one that leads to totalitarian government.

The large corporations have used their lobbying power to give them unfair advantage through corporate welfare, again contrary to free enterprise. They are being allowed to privatize profits while socializing loses. Our government intervention into the corporate world like the financial industry, General Motors and Jeffery Immelt CEO of General Electric and head of President Obama’s economic advisors has been called crony-capitalism. The party in power picks losers and winners. In return the political party receives campaign donations and corporate favors. This cozy relationship bypasses the impartial free market competition. This insidious involvement of corporate executives and government officials results in consolidation of power and opportunity for rampant corruption. In the 1930s, this crony capitalism had a different name, fascism.

Another strategy of government grabbing greater power is to expand its reach and numbers. The politicians make outrageous promises and act as if they have the power to grant “new rights” to citizens. Each promised service and entitlement increases the justification for more government employees furthering government encroachment into our lives. The continual increase of local, state and federal agencies requires more public employees, which translates into more regulation, less individual freedom and more taxes.

We have to face the obvious that we are at a pivotal point. We are spending more money than we have. If we continue, we will lose our country as we know it. We are on our knees begging China for money to pay our creditors and Saudi Arabia to keep the price of oil down. The reality of America will radically change. Our country is heading towards a centrally controlled state economy whatever it is going to be called. This concentration of power in government always ends in tyranny.

We are not using our brains or common sense. These decisions to decree entitlements and rights without considering the long-term cost have created this mess.

The granting of rights and entitlements without having the funds to sustain them is driving riots worldwide including in America. The radical left filmmaker, Michael Moore, and community agitator, Reverend Jackson, praised union workers in Madison, Wisconsin for demanding outrageous salaries, benefits and the right to collective bargaining. They applauded the invasion and takeover of the state capital in Madison by out-of-control union members and sympathizers. Mr. Moore audaciously said, “America is not broke. Madison is not alone. Thank you, Don’t give up Madison … this is only the beginning.” Both these radicals are calling for revolution worldwide.

Fortunately the rule of law prevailed to prevent further chaos. In mid June the supreme court of Wisconsin ruled that Governor Scott Walker and the legislature were abiding by the law in limiting the collective bargaining rights. The court’s decision denied the unions had collective bargaining “rights.” Mob rule intimidation will hopefully not be tolerated in America.

Our constitutional republic has been the most stable, prosperous and longest existing one on earth. Our constitution and Bill of Rights limits the power of government to arbitrarily use power against citizens and protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. Government exists to be a servant to the people rather than the people existing to meet the desires of government elites. America is based on individual freedom where citizens are allowed to be free and self reliant in a free market economy.

Gradually we have handed over power to the federal government. The concept of rights granted to the people to meet their wants and needs is part of the Communist Manifesto not our Constitution. People’s rights, collective bargaining, political correctness are slogans that have been used to transfer societies into totalitarian ones. Dependency on government feeds the growth of oppressive government.

Our citizens have to know the difference between a constitutional republic, a democracy or a dictatorial government. America will choose to reject the direction of our government in the 2012 election or accept the transformation into a dictatorial one.

Ignorance and non-involvement will keep the status quo of government ruling for the power elite’s self-interest. Remaining stupid ends in enslavement. Freedom from government repression involves understanding of what is happening politically. It will take personal involvement to reestablish our liberties. Truth and knowledge will give us the impetus to fight for our freedom.

The answer to our political future is up to us. Let us give real meaning to Independence Day.



Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.
Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS ROB THE SPIRIT

RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS ROB THE SPIRIT

By Domenick Maglio PhD Traditional Realist



A government to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.

Thomas Jefferson



FDR believed and Obama believes that the government should and could provide guaranteed rights to its citizens. These rights will be granted without any responsibility preconditions, reservations or repayment. These rights were not endowed by our Creator as envisioned by our founding fathers. Instead they are decreed through the power of the government. Thus any other government would have the same power to reinterpret and even deny any rights.



The rights that have been proposed are not limited to the following list. The right to a useful and well paying job or years of unemployment insurance, the right to adequate food and clothing, the right to vacations, the right to a substantial home, the right to a college education, the right to a spouse, a right to divorce, a right to abortion, a right to health care regardless of mistreating oneself.



Our founding father’s legacy was the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These rights are endowed by our Creator. They did not relieve citizens of being responsibly self-reliant. Instead they restricted the federal government’s power to maximize citizen’s freedoms. These learned men understood that people can better use their energies to provide for themselves than can any bureaucrat.



The USA has a $14.3 trillion debt and growing. We are on the brink of national bankruptcy. We have seen politicians from both parties make ridiculous promises but do not have the courage to lay out a plan to pay for them. Watch out for anyone whose promises sound too good because they usually are. The “smart “ politician grants a new give away program but makes sure the payment will kick in well after he is reelected or leaves office. Our country’s debt is placing our sovereignty in jeopardy due to the cowardice of our politicians. Jefferson stated that debt was the greatest danger to America’s survival.



These entitlement programs, because of inefficiencies, unintended consequences and corruption always cause budgets to go beyond the original estimates. As more people are unable or unwilling to find employment the need for public assistance grows. Almost 50% of Americans receive some sort of government assistance. The “safety net” and other government handouts are becoming an acceptable way of existing in America. For a growing number of people working for a living will become of little value when taxes almost equal earnings.



Motivation to be industrious loses to idleness when people’s earnings are robbed by the government. When revenue from taxes falls with a drop in the number of people in the private sector and the dependency of more people on the dole, services are diluted to meet the higher demand. Quality and choice of services are inevitably limited by the reality of a dying economy.



The lines become longer, the services poorer and expectations become more fatalistic. Citizens are reluctant to give up their right to free services and learn to accept mediocrity. Week by week, month-by-month, year by year the spirit for life is sucked dry. They become hopeless and helpless.



People surrender their independence to better their lives for the miserable handouts they receive from government. Empty shelves, lack of choice and drabness become acceptable, the norm. Self-reliance and faith in God are replaced by a numbness of the spirit.



Some individuals somehow believe the answers to improve their lives rests with the government bureaucrats even though the government fails time after time to meet their promises. Propaganda, alcohol and drugs will increase to dull the pain. They lose the knowledge that they can accomplish anything they want as long as they are willing to pay the price. There is little urge to be free.



This is the final step in the process of people willing to give up their freedom for false promises and security. It is not a forced slavery but it becomes slavery nevertheless.



Americans, wake up sooner rather then later. Socialism/communism makes for ungrateful, psychologically weak and spiritless citizens who have sold their souls to the government.







Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.