Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Year in Review
By Emily Burner
1787 Society Board Member
It’s been an honor to serve on the board of the 1787 Society, and a privilege to watch it grow like it has. When I mention the Society to people, they actually know what I’m talking about and have at least heard of it if not visited the monthly meetings. As the year comes to a close, I reflect on what I’ve learned.
Oklahoma has great leadership, and I’m so thankful many public servants have been able to speak at our monthly meetings. Each leader has a story, and we can learn a lot.
From Attorney General Scott Pruitt, we learned what the future of the Healthcare Law may be and how it looks to play out in the courts. Right now, it’s in the hands of the states. From General Rita Aragon we learned what our veterans face when they return home. How can we serve them? What can we do to take care of those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms? We learned about how we can impact the future, and how it starts with the family (Congressman Lankford).
There are so many more pearls of wisdom we received from leaders this year. Now, as we look forward to what the future holds for the 1787 Society, we look back on our success. I’m excited for the New Year and all the possibilities for the Society! Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, everyone!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Have Central Banks Found an Answer to the Global Financial Crisis?
By Brandon McWaters
OCPA Intern
The same country that introduced the modern system of banking is now in the throes of a potential financial meltdown. Italy is currently faced with paying record interest rates on its growing national debt. Italy has been a member of the eurozone since the union's inception and claims that it will not have to leave due to recent economic setbacks. The EU is putting on a brave face and still holds that the euro will make it through this crisis and will not have to be dissolved.
While there are many reasons to be skeptical about this claim, recent moves by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan, and Switzerland led to a deal Wednesday, that made U.S. dollars cheaper in order to give cash-strapped banks an affordable outlet for taking on loanable funds. The rationale behind this move is simple: European banks were finding it difficult to make dollar loans and had switched to loans based on the euro which depressed its value and restricted how much could be loaned out by European banks.
The move brought about praise by the international market as stocks skyrocketed yesterday in response with the lowest gain reported by the UK’s FTSE 100 at an astonishing 3%. Richard Hunter at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said that if banks take advantage of the cheaper funding, "a great deal of tension will be removed from the system, both in terms of liquidity and market sentiment.”
In my earlier post, I talked about the potential effect that a eurozone meltdown could have on the U.S. economy and why Americans should actively watch the situation across the pond. With this move by the central banks of the world, and the resulting 400+ point increase by the Dow Jones Wednesday, it is clear that the two economies are tied together. While the move by the Fed to cheapen the dollar may seem to be an act of weakening our global position in the financial market, it actually is a positive move both for our dollar and our economy. Currently the U.S. dollar is the preferred currency for international transactions and by making it more affordable to European banks to buy and then loan out, we increase the attractiveness of our U.S. Treasury Bonds to be bought by foreign investors and we keep the dollar as the preferred currency rather than losing out to the now over-rated euro. What this means for us is that we keep our position as the world’s leading economy, and hopefully leave recessionary times in the past.
Links:
Monday, November 28, 2011
American What?
By Ashley Gill
OCPA Special Projects Coordinator
For the most part, as children we thought that the United States was the “best country” in the world. We stood up in class and recited the Pledge of Allegiance or memorized the words to The Star Spangled Banner with pride. Though we might not have understood the term “American exceptionalism,” we believed in it.
Has our sense of pride and patriotism since been lost? The polls confirm that the Millennial generation is the least likely to say that the United States is the best country in the world. This loss of perspective is immanent when even our Commander in Chief claims that this great country has “gotten a little soft” and lost its “competitive edge.”
Perhaps we have simply forgotten and neglected what truly makes America exceptional. The self-evident truth that all men are created equal and are given equal opportunity to succeed is what sets the United States apart from even its strongest allies. Freedom and personal responsibility are the traditional values that historically, have allowed any American to climb the ladder of success.
Regrettably, the caustic policies of those who forgo such traditional values have empowered Washington at the expense of the people. Officials who are happy to add fuel to the entitlement fire strangle our economy. Equality of results, rather than equality of opportunity, is promoting favoritism. Personal responsibility has become a foreign concept to far too many Millennials.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said this to his audience at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs’ 2011 Citizenship Dinner:
“All of the problems that we face can be turned around, but it should anger us that we are even having a conversation about America’s decline. Given our history and dynamic nature, we can turn this around.”
If we are to save what freedom we have left and regain the liberties that have been lost, we must remember the constitutional principles that both define and unite us as Americans. Let’s once again embrace American exceptionalism with the alacrity of our youth.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Brand New State. Gonna Treat You Great!
By Brian Bush
1787 Society Treasurer
To achieve lasting success, leaders must commit to two things simultaneously. First, they must hold fast to their core values and the principles that ground and guide them. Second, they must never stop dreaming. This formula requires finding balance, and it requires dedication. It is a key ingredient for success in leadership, in business, and in any organization. And I believe Oklahoma is proof that the same formula is critical to the success of a state. What makes Oklahoma the best place to live, work, and raise a family today is the same thing that made it a destination for so many pioneers in the days before statehood. What made those brave men and women come here were their core values and a passion to chase their dreams against all odds.
We celebrate November 16 as Statehood Day and many know that we officially became a state on that day in 1907, but none of that would have been possible without the tireless efforts of people working for years prior. In fact, a significant statement of who we are came from the Resolutions of the Joint Statehood Convention assembled at Oklahoma City, OK, July 12, 1905. They outlined to the United States Congress the reasons Oklahoma should be admitted as a state “on equal footing with the other states.” In that document, those Oklahoma leaders gave these reasons:
1. “First, our area is sufficient.” (Our geographic size in relation to other states.)
2. “Second, our population is sufficient.” (Our population size in relation to other states.)
3. “Third, our resources are sufficient.” (Our incredible natural resources including our coal mines, our “extensive oil fields,” our productive natural gas wells, our “mountains of granite,” our lead, our zinc, our forests, and our fertile farm land.)
4. “The character of our population entitles us to immediate admission.” (In this section, they discussed the literacy of our citizens, and they focused on the fact that our population contained those “who have the pluck and energy to move.”)
One could not write a more fitting description of our state today, and in this description is the key to why Oklahoma is still the best place to live, work, and raise a family. Our area is still sufficient. Our population is still sufficient (and growing). Our resources are still sufficient, and new technology has allowed us to utilize those resources in ways never before imagined. But most importantly, the character of our population continues to be the standard by which others measure success.
Though we have been tested by natural disasters, economic hardship, and the tragedy of the Oklahoma City bombing, our people have not wavered. The same frontier spirit that allowed our ancestors to carve a life for themselves out of this territory and the same spirit that allowed them to unabashedly declare to Congress that we were sufficient for equal footing is the same spirit that carries us today. It allows us to be united and strengthened by our adversity rather than divided by it. It is that spirit that builds the Devon Tower, puts an NBA team in the Chesapeake Arena, and builds an economy more stable and resilient than that of most of America and the world.
The prevailing spirit in our state has held on to our core values and never stopped dreaming. Our core values are grounded in our faith, and so are our dreams. It is sometimes hard to describe a spirit like that, but there are two notable attempts. In the preamble to our State Constitution, we said it this way: Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of liberty; to secure just and rightful government; to promote our mutual welfare and happiness, we, the people of the State of Oklahoma, do ordain and establish this Constitution. In our state song, we say it this way: Plenty of air and plenty of room. Plenty of room to swing a rope. Plenty of HEART and plenty of HOPE.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Wrong Road
By Jaeton Cary
OCPA Intern
Occupy Wall Street is a movement that we can all sympathize with from the standpoint that something is wrong with our country. Even House Speaker John Boehner said that he "understand(s) the people's frustrations." However, where many people diverge from “OWS” is over where the blame should go. They say corporate America; the other side says Congress and the White House. This is where the OWS argument breaks down. They blame big business and the “1%” for being “greedy” and not “doing their fair share.” They blame the system of Capitalism and Wall Street while they accept support in multiple forms from the very “1%” they are protesting against.
Even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a supporter of the movement, blames Washington for the source of the protesters’ frustrations. "The thought was that when we did that [passed TARP], there would be capital available and Main Street would benefit from the resources that went largely to Wall Street," said Pelosi. "That didn't happen. People are angry." Pelosi is right. It’s Washington that sets the rules for the game that Wall Street and the private sector have to play by. The best example of this is the housing crisis in 2008, a result of Congress forcing the banks to lend money to “risky” individuals. Occupiers complain about the bailouts and bonuses handed out to Wall Street, but it was the Federal Government that gave them out. It is big government, not big business that is damaging this country.
One of the staple points of emphasis for Occupy Wall Street is that “big business” is bad and the “1%” is evil. However upon taking a closer look, Occupy Wall Street is really benefiting from big businesses, and big business is benefiting from Occupy Wall Street. The best example of this is Ben & Jerry’s. They fed 600 Occupy protesters on October 11th of this year. Of course the protesters embraced the support. However, it begs the questions, why was Ben and Jerry’s so willing, in this time of economic hardship, to give 600 people free ice cream? Is it simply out of the goodness of their heart? Or was the marketing opportunity provided by the protest just too sweet to pass up? Let’s look at a quote from Tom Zara, the Global Practice Leader of Corporate Citizenship at Interbrand. “Ben & Jerry's is about celebrating individuality, self expression, and the political process in its good, bad, and ugly forms...It's very much in its DNA to participate in what is a modern version of Woodstock.” So, by embracing this movement, Ben & Jerry’s enhances its brand. When Occupy Wall Street protesters praise Ben & Jerry’s for their “support” they are helping Ben & Jerry’s turn “endorsements of protests…into profit.” As a capitalist, I have no problem with what Ben & Jerry’s is doing. I am simply pointing out the hypocrisy in the Occupy argument.
Occupy Wall Street represents people who are upset with the current condition of this country but who isn’t upset? Their credibility is lost for me, when they fail to see that the very clothes on their backs and the shoes they wear on their feet were made by a big business. While the Occupy Wall Street protestors have a valid complaint, they are going down the wrong road. They should be marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, not Wall Street.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Eurozone Crisis and What it Means to America
By Brandon McWaters
OCPA Intern
Recently many news outlets have been running multiple stories covering the financial issues facing Greece, and by extension, the rest of the European Union. At first, it may seem curious why this crisis has been headlining so many reports on both sides of the pond, particularly since America does not operate on the Euro as does much of the EU. However a closer look at the situation reveals why everyone, including Americans, should be concerned with what’s going on over in Europe.
This current bailout, slated for around $140 billion (109bn-euro), is actually the second of a two-part stimulus package from EU member nations to one of the worst economies in the western hemisphere, Greece. The Greek government has been failing economically for some time now, borrowing money it couldn’t pay back, spending funds it doesn’t have, living above its means, etc. All those poor financial practices hit Greece hard when, after years of experiencing tax evasion problems, the global market hit a severe downturn in 2008-2010. It received its first bailout in May of 2010 because it could no longer afford to borrow money and needed some time to catch up on its debt. The EU agreed on a temporary bailout to give Greece time to fix its problems and get back on track. Instead, the worst economy in Europe went further down, experiencing a 2011 deficit of 8.5% of their GDP and received the title of worst credit of any country monitored by S&P.
What this means to Americas is quite simple: If this new round of bailouts fails and Greece defaults on its debt, confidence in a nation’s debt, any nation’s debt, and their ability to pay it back plummets and that means a reduction in lender confidence internationally. There are many countries that are “exposed” to Grecian debt, which means their national banks hold part of the sum of what Greece owes. If they are not able to pay that money back, then there are multiple nations who will be short that money, including the US, which holds approximately $7.3bn in both bank/private lending and government exposure in Greek debt.
The main issue to consider isn’t even the large numbers associated with a Greek default, but rather the confidence issue that goes along with the possibility of the default. This is already affecting the US economy, particularly the banking industry, as Goldman Sachs has reported a $393 million loss for the third quarter of 2011, partially based on the uncertainty in the European markets. Analyst Todd Schoenberger, a managing director at Landcolt Trading said, "The underlying cancer on all these reports is Europe, all these banks have risk from Europe and that region will continue to have a negative impact."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)