Stop blaming Obama and start thinking

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Henry Ford

It is a monumental mistake to think that President Obama deserves most of the blame for our economic problems. First, as everyone should know, he inherited unprecedented (for the U.S.) economic difficulties. Second, now that my affinity for conservatism is waning, I see how conservatives excel in pointing the finger of blame at everyone but themselves.

Might their affinity for trillion-dollar wars have contributed to the problem? Some wars need to be fought, but others are unnecessary. For example, if Communism is as economically bad as it is reputed to be (and it is), we didn't need to fight it, or threaten to fight it: we could have just stepped back and watched their economies self-destruct.

Furthermore, our overall war strategy is usually wrong. Our beef is rarely with the average people of enemy nations, but rather their leaders. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize how we could decapitate that leadership; bright people can think of a way to do it without losing a single American life, and at negligible cost to us.

That brings up a related point: conservatives are generally so fond of inside-the-box ideas and past practices* that they fail to consider innovative ways to accomplish goals at less cost. They assail liberals for throwing money at problems, but they do it, too.

* This may sound unduly disparaging until one considers the definitions of conservative versus liberal.

Now to point the finger of blame at myself. Think of all the time that I and others like me have spent complaining about Obama instead of working. Had we spent that time working, or brainstorming ideas on how to invigorate our economy and improve efficiency, Obama would now be presiding over a very robust nation.

Current and past leaders deserve blame, but the American pastime of bellyaching about politicians has frittered away time that could have been put to better use. For example, once I resolved to help solve our problems instead of merely complaining of them, I thought of a way we could reform the entitlement system so recipients get as much as they now do, or potentially much more, while substantially reducing the burden on taxpayers. I devised ways to slash my energy utilization. I've helped others save gasoline and heat their homes. I explained how banks could help solve homelessness, how microhomes could solve homelessness, and I offered to give a microhome to a homeless person or family in addition to selling my Sea-doo, Ski-doo, and shed to help a (wrongfully, IMHO) deported person reenter the U.S.

As an example of how we could downsize government without reducing services, I disclosed how roads could be plowed for free. I revealed how sponsoring immigration could stimulate our economy, and how we could derive valuable lessons by studying the one thing a madman did right. I wrote about how most wars could be eliminated and how better teachers and better ideas could lead to a better world. In my ER sites (ER-doctor.com and ERbook.net), I explained how I went from dunce to doctor, and how others could replicate my metamorphosis of IQ and creativity to help them achieve their dreams.

I discussed investing in jobs for America and gave proof that the rags-to-riches American Dream is still possible, and how YOU can achieve it. I presented a shocking example of how USA efficiency has plummeted along with a perfect way to kickstart our economy and put people back to work. I'm working on an addictively fun outside-the-box way to help people save money and time while improving their health, brainpower, appearance, and mood.

I presented my strategy to leave China in the dust, and how made-in-China junk is sapping our economy and trying our patience.

I introduced readers to a pigheaded CEO who is fettering our economy. I explained why big shots are often close-minded and how the Big Three have big heads, not big ideas.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I lambasted those who ridicule good new ideas. Now, more than ever, we need good outside-the-box approaches, but people are often too hidebound and small-minded to consider new ways of doing things. Anyone who dares to voice an original thought that doesn't conform to what (little) the sheeple already know is often ridiculed, not praised, by folks bereft of imagination and common sense.

The usual rehash of freeze-dried ideas from bygone American politicians is not sufficient to cure our national problems, so if someone isn't bright enough to propose novel solutions, that person isn't doing any good by complaining.

“Don't find fault, find a remedy.”
Henry Ford

After years of grumbling about our politicians, I began to generate ideas to help solve our many problems. You could do it, too. If we all got in high gear, we could collectively make our economy roar to life and solve other problems that seem vexingly insolvable, such as how to end our national obesity epidemic. I once was so fat that I couldn't see my feet when I stood up, but less than a year later, with never any hunger and plenty of pizza and breadsticks, I went from being a blimp to looking like this with a 29-inch waist:

washing my car in 1990

I've since learned many other ways to easily lose weight and keep it off, so even though I am now decades older and don't exercise after injuring a shoulder and breaking my neck, I am still in very good shape. I could teach my weight loss without willpower methods to the nation so we could all shape up. However, another national epidemic—mental laziness—repels most people from reading anything that isn't Twitter-length.

Now imagine if we multiplied my good ideas (less than 1% of which are listed above) by the number of people in the United States. Our biggest problem would be enviable: sorting through so many good ideas to implement the very best ones. We would be so focused on ideas, the wealth they could generate, and the problems they could solve, that people would instantly tune out anyone who wasted time complaining of President Obama or his successors.

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
— Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, quoting someone he termed an "unknown sage" in The Saturday Evening Post article "The World of the Uneducated" (November 28, 1959)

It's time to generate ideas, and discuss them. What are yours?

thinking up bright ideas

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Man who feared that ObamaCare will result in death shot his children

Americans want work if it's not too much work

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2. How to slash welfare without hurting anyone

The views expressed on this page may or may not reflect my current opinions, nor do they necessarily represent my past ones. After reading a slice of what I wrote in my various websites and books, you may conclude that I am a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican. Wrong; there is a better alternative. Just as the primary benefit from debate classes results when students present and defend opinions contrary to their own, I use a similar strategy as a creative writing tool to expand my brainpower—and yours. Mystified? Stay tuned for an explanation. PS: The wheels in your head are already turning a bit faster, aren't they?

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reference: Imagining dialogue can boost critical thinking: Excerpt: “Examining an issue as a debate or dialogue between two sides helps people apply deeper, more sophisticated reasoning …”

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