Stamp prices have been on the increase since 1932.  Prior to then, the only price drop in stamp history was the drop from $0.03 to $0.02 in 1883 and 1919.  Since, we have seen nothing but stamp price hikes throughout history.  Many always bring up a point of why do we pay steadily increasing prices for stamps?

Argument 1:

Stamp prices have to increase for sustainability.  Since the emergence of email, instant messenger, online bill pay, webcams, and those silly e-card sites, the need for a stamp to communicate to someone or pay bills has lost its lust.  Why type a letter, fold it, mail it, wait 4 days and hope it is received, and wait on the same process just to get the response.  Via the mail system, this could take up to 8 days.  Email simplifies this into 3 mins via speedy web servers.

Stamps also have to increase along with inflation.  Mail trucks require gas.  The Postal Service systems have received quite an overhaul in the past decades that require funding as well.

Argument 2:

Stamp prices are not overly high at all.  Stamps have only gone from $0.03 to $0.44 in 147 years.  I don’t think any other product can beat that price increase from a consumer standpoint in this lifetime.  Stamps are also collector items.  So they are also historic as well as valued over time.

But don’t let me suede your opinion.  What do you think?

Unfortunately, many countries believe just as George does.  That the U.S. starts wars, kills people, and basketball is no longer our sport to dominate.  I have to admit that we are very proactive when it comes to fighting wars in other countries.  Not to mention we are determined to police deadly weapons of mass destruction in other countries.

Is this it?  Is this the only reason the U.S. is so hated?

Men play basketball.  Women play basketball.

Men wrestle.  Women wrestle.

Men stand and urinate.  Women sit and urinate (but they can stand).

Men join the military.  Women join the military.

It appears that women can do the same things as men can do.  So why has the question around women in combat in the military always come up?  The synonym for Combat is “Fighting”.  I have several friends and family members in the military and they’ve never told me stories of having to “fight” an assailant.  Shooting someone is the norm if the tank, grenades, and snipers didn’t take out the enemy.

So why can’t a woman do that?  Woman should be able to shoot a gun.  I know women that do shoot firearms so what’s all the fuss about?  If you have the cons, please drop me a note below and tell me.

We all know about it, Have heard about it, and have experienced it?  The National Deficit

A budget deficit occurs when an entity spends more money than it takes in.

The government has created and continues to grow a budget deficit simply because they continue to spend more than they take in.  Unemployment is still at record levels, that means fewer tax payers which means less money pumping into “the man’s” pocket.  So WE SHOULD spend less or appropriately down size in areas of the government.  However, we engage in a seemingly endless war in multiple locations, and several government payout programs.

In 2009, we spent $10.2 trillion on national debt payment, $515.4 billion on the national defense, $189.3 billion fighting the “global” war on terrorism, $68.5 billion on health and human services, approximately $63 billion on transportation, $59 billion on education, $38 billion on housing and urban development, and $25 billion on the department of energy.

The national debt is at approximately $12.5 trillion and climbing.  With just over 300 million US home makers, that breaks the debt out to YOU owing about $40,000.  How does that make you feel?  Do you care?  Should we care at all?  Is the national deficit just something that we will talk about or do we even care?

We live in a world full of war.  By being a U.S. citizen, our wars are different than most as my generation has never had to experience a war on our home soil.  I get up, go to work, come home.  Imagine if you had to dodge mortar shells, step lightly looking for mines, or wear bullet proof  vests just to go to work or school.

Unfortunately, many Afghans and Iraqis have to experience this.  But never fear!  The United States will save you!

Why?  Why are we fighting for a country that is almost 7000 miles away?  What is the U.S. to gain?  Oil, Land, Gold, Coal, what?  Is there a secret buried treasure that we the public don’t know about?

I personally think we have enough drug rings entering the country and terrorist organizations breading on U.S. soil that would deserve much more attention than people who have historically been fighting for years and will continue to fight.