...and then I found $10

Coming Soon

2012-06-14T19:17:00.002-07:00

The Lives of Timmy and Tommy

Starring: Timmy and Tommy

The Mission at Hand: An America Built to Last*

2012-01-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, President Obama delivered a very well-written and well developed State of the Union address to the American people. He touched on several subjects ranging from the economy, jobs, immigration, and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whether you are Republican, Democrat (or my least favorite) "in the middle" you cannot disagree with the fact that President Obama is a great speaker. But behind the great delivery, I want to dig a little deeper into just a few of his words.

I won't spend to much time bashing President Obama, questioning his statistics, or challenging the achievements that he claimed to have completed during his administration's time in office. That would be counterproductive to our discussion and would simply lead us in circles. Instead, I want to focus on the larger ideas of President Obama's speech.

The overarching theme of his speech was what needed to be done in order to build an America to last. He divided his blueprint into four groups: New manufacturing, New skills, American Energy and Renewal of Values. I will focus on all, but American Energy in this post.

New Manufacturing
As Americans, we have become numb to the idea that Made in China is probably what we wear, what we watch, what we listen to, and even what we eat. The fact that American jobs are hemorrhaging our country is worrisome, but what is more worrisome is what we plan to do about it. In today's globalized world businesses need to make financial decisions to grow their bottom line. For many of America's corporations, this means shifting jobs to areas where labor is cheaper. (While the issue of human rights plays a role in the access to cheap labor, I won't go into that topic for the sake of staying on track). So the obvious question is "What are we to do?"

Currently, President Obama is proposing that we cut taxes for corporations that keep jobs in America, that we give tax incentives for companies that bring jobs back, and that we continue to raise taxes for corporations that take their businesses outside of America. This won't work. The idea that providing financial support (from tax money coming out of your paycheck) is the best way to bring jobs back to America is simply a systematic way of providing corporations with an artificial boost. The fact is that putting the government in the business of providing an artificial boost (money) to corporations doesn't make any business sense. And while some of you might argue, "Well that's what China is doing, then why shouldn't we?" I say, "Just because Jimmy jumped off the bridge, doesn't mean you should too!"

While it would take a while to flesh out what I believe would be a better solution to the problem, I can say that just a little business knowledge tells me that if America wants to build a strong manufacturing sector, we need to have a competitive advantage that not only rivals the benefits of cheap labor, but drives corporations back to America. This definitely won't be easy, and if I had the way to do it, I probably wouldn't be writing it on here. But history tells us that it can be done.

New Skills
I have a strong belief that education is the best investment that America can make to guarantee its success into the future. We need to hold not only teachers, but parents accountable for the progress of students. Today's education system relies heavily on the school system to educating our youth. While schools, teachers, technology, and materials are key to this success, the backbone of education needs to come from a fundamental support system that brings parents into the map. For adults thinking about going back to school, I strongly believe we can create low-cost systems of education that can allow unemployed individuals the ability to gain skill sets that will make them a more marketable candidate. (This is already being done even by some of America's leading institutions. See MIT & Stanford's free online courses).
In the long run, access to affordable education needs to become a more important priority if we truly want to build a prosperous and competitive future.

Renewal of Values
President Obama spent some time discussing how many Americans today were living out the values of our nation. The best example that he gave was that of our military. An organization that functions as one unit, who together work cohesively to accomplish the task at hand. While I believe serving in the military is one of the greatest ways to represent the commitment one has to its nation, I do not see how it applies to the way we should think about our future. The military functions in a very top-down approach. When orders are given, they come from the top, leaving those at the bottom with little say in what happens. And while there might be some examples where this might not be the case, I think it's safe to say that one's military rank determines the input and influence in final decision making.

The idea that American's should take the example of today's military and set politics aside to achieve a common goal is nothing but imaginary. Put simply, there are far too many voices in a system that attempts to listen to many, to easily "accomplish" a mission.

From my viewpoint, renewing American values leads us to ask the same question that John F. Kennedy asked the American people: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?"

American culture has lost sight of this question. We have become a society that takes Kennedy's question and turns it the other way. We have been accustomed to live in a country where we expect the government to put food on the table, pay our hospital bills, and supplement our wallets.

The Mission at Hand* is not rooted in what plan our government has to get "US" out of this mess. It is rooted in the idea that as Americans, we should provide an equitable contribution to the prosperity of this nation. An idea that does not mean taxing the rich to give to the poor, but that instead looks at ways of building a country where Americans can all have a role in the rebuilding of our nation. An idea that does not mean cutting welfare, but that instead builds opportunities for people to become less dependent on welfare. America's future is no one's responsibility, but that of Americans.

After work..

2012-01-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

After working for about 3 months I feel I've got a pretty good handle of work. It's been a great learning experience and I don't have much to complain about. So with the extra time in my hands I've been messing around with different things to do:

I started taking karate classes and found them to be pretty interesting. My aspirations to become a black belt in just a few weeks has definitely taken a back seat. I did make a mistake of asking our sensei when to shout... Needless to say it's not called shouting and I still don't have the answer
I've decided to prepare for the Chicago marathon. Given I missed out on the running gene I've started running a bit and reading a couple of running books.
On the weekends I've been exploring what Chicago has to offer. There's a bunch of great restaurants and bars that are definitely worth exploring. It's been fun :)
Set a goal of reading 25 books in 2012. If you've got any suggestions definitely throw them my way.

Other than that I've been watching some television to gear up for this year's presidential elections... Let me fast forward to November... it's going to be Obama vs. Romney. But it has definitely been interesting observing the political dynamics of this country. While I am worried about the direction of this country, I am more worried that there are no viable ways to put our country back on track currently on the table. I'm sure I'll probably dedicate more than enough posts on this topic.

Overall, it's definitely been a good few months after graduation and living in "the real world." In the next 12 months I do hope to:

travel outside the country
join/start a non-profit in Chicago
visit Iowa City
go camping
run a marathon
keep this blog going...

-RP

Service Junction- new idea. (draft)

2011-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

Service Junction
Meet.Match.Serve.

What we’re about?
Service Junction (SJ) is an organization geared to creating opportunities of collaboration between the corporate and non-profit world. While the combination of the for-profit and non-profit world might seem counterintuitive, we believe that by identifying common goals we can create opportunities that will prove to be mutually beneficial.

How we do it?
By partnering with non-profit organizations we work to identify projects that the organization has identified as important to them, but has been unable to accomplish due to one of the following:

Limited manpower

Lack of expertise in area (Marketing, Technology, Finance)

Financial constraints

or other resource constraint

Once we’ve identified needs from our partner organizations we work to match Service Junction volunteers with projects that provide mutual benefits.

Guidelines:
As the group evolves (and change occurs), there are a few things that should remain consistent

Provide benefit to all parties involved.
Keep things simple.
Stay committed, connected, and cool.

There's also one key point. We don't give money away. While donations are crucial for the continued success of any non-profit, we want to help non-profits identify ways that they can create long-term donation sources, not provide them one-time help.

My Intentions

2011-12-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

So I won't fail to admit that I've been toying with the idea of having a blog for quite some time. While I considered time to be a significant constraint, I figured that excuse was pretty dull. I can't seem to say I have a general theme I'll post about, but my general interests in politics, economics, current news, and my hybrid views on various topics will probably come into play.

If anything, this blog will serve as a way to keep track of my life without having to increase the pool of time I spent on Facebook (which I will admit has greatly diminished).

About a month ago, I set forth on the idea that I would write a book. While, I haven't given up on that idea... I will admit, it probably won't happen. Nonetheless, I don't think it would be a bad idea to include a section of the introduction that I had included in my "book." It is generally pretty applicable.

In writing I do not intend to provide an example of what your philosophy should look like. It is by no means an interpretation of what is right or wrong. If after reading a sentence you experience a strong distaste in what you are reading, I cannot apologize. My goal, in writing, is not to deliver a piece that becomes reader-friendly, or popular. On the contrary, I write to maintain an account of what I have come to learn, experience, and understand. While putting something to paper adds a sense of responsibility for what I believe, I am a strong believer that time changes thought and belief. Lastly, I apologize to my English instructors, for I am sure there is dangerous grammatical errors that will be a part of my writing.

If after reading this, you find yourself ready to poke your eyes out... I don't blame you. I probably would too. I do challenge you to hold on... While I can't guarantee your satisfaction, you don't have much to lose.