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is a long period of boom before a bust, many times a think it should be mandated to have a full accounting
generation or more, which is considered to be 20 to 30 for the public to see without redaction down to the
years. Overwhelmingly, over a period this long, we get penny on what, when, where and who received taxpayer
accustomed to sunny days and don’t even consider the funds.
potential for hurricanes and blizzards in the future even
though many times the signs are all there. Further, it should be banned for any elected public
official to be employed in an industry over which that
It is only when the bust actually happens, such as the elected official wielded influence. An example would be
Great Depression, where we are brought back to reality. the officials running the FDA cannot take a position as
However, this only lasts until the next boom outside of a consultant with a big pharmaceutical company when
the people who experienced it and felt it. Over the years, I they leave the FDA. They are often heavily rewarded
have met many who went through the Great Depression with consultant contracts based on their favorable
and have accumulated great wealth since then, and I've treatment of these companies, which is detrimental to
seen just how frugal they are, which is a direct result of citizens.
experiencing a bust firsthand.
I suggest watching the movie Dopesick about the opioid
Furthermore, as we all know, there are many lawmakers crisis to get an idea of what I am talking about.
doing favors for companies and industries in exchange for
personal enrichment and large campaign contributions, 3. Given that all factors cannot be controlled, what ac-
which more often than not are not in the best interest tions can business owners and other individuals take to
of the citizens. Look at the financial debacle in 2008 make it likely their businesses and their families and
when the banks and mortgage company executives were communities can weather difficult times?
raking in cash, hand over fist, lending to anybody with
a heartbeat. Business owners and individuals must be creative and
frugal so they can weather the difficult times. In my
I am no financial genius, but I knew this had to come lifetime, today’s economic climate is as uncertain as it
crashing down. I personally knew people who didn’t has ever been. We have been accustomed to extremely
have enough income to qualify for a single home under depressed interest rates, which fueled reckless spending
normal conditions who suddenly had four homes. The and extraordinary risks. However, at some point the
bankers knew this and rode the riches as long as they music has to stop, and you can see that happening today.
possibly could. In the end, not a single jail sentence was
imposed on the top echelon who made all that money 4. People have entrenched views when it comes to reg-
and left the taxpayers to bail them out. ulation. How can those with opposing views learn to
communicate better and compromise effectively for the
They had good friends in the government help them good of everyone?
avoid any material consequences, where if the average
citizen like you and I did 1/100th of what they did we The government is very much broken today due to a
would be thrown in jail and the key thrown away. Until a great divide and, in my opinion, a complete dereliction
majority of lawmakers in power cannot be compromised of their duties. Democrats and Republicans seem to
and make decisions on a fair and equal basis without have no interest in doing what is best for the country
exterior influencing, this cycle will continue to repeat and its citizens but rather pushing their own agenda.
itself over and over. The agenda today is all about keeping and maintaining
power at all costs.
2. Assuming we can learn and improve, what can gov-
ernments do to protect individual freedom while also The constant propaganda being fed to the American
enhancing our system's financial stability? people by the media is a huge problem and creates a
major divide among United States citizens, which is
The government is the primary problem today, which in exactly what they want. I can only hope that everyone
my opinion is run by a majority of self-serving elected wakes up and starts thinking for themselves rather than
officials. In all fairness, elected officials have, since the accepting what the mainstream media wants you to
beginning of government, yielded power and cashed in think. If we are no longer divided, the game is over for
on this power in a variety of ways at the local, state and the government, and they can no longer push their self-
federal levels. serving policies and laws.

However, what I am seeing is a country that no longer We wish to thank Benjamin Abel, director of sales at
resembles the foundation the United States was built on Bank Associates Merchant Services, and Justin Milmeis-
and what many in our military have died protecting. ter, CPP and president of Elite Merchant Solutions, for
Individual freedoms are slowly being taken away, free eloquently addressing this challenging subject matter.
speech is a thing of the past, and financial stability is for
the ultra-wealthy individuals and large corporations. I
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