Here is the 2005 Report Card on the 12 categories:

Aviation — D+

Bridges — C

Dams — D

Drinking water — D-

Energy — D

Hazardous waste — D

Navigable waterways — D-

Public parks — C-

Rail — C-

Roads — D

Schools — D

Solid waste — C+

Transit — D+

Wastewater — D-

SOURCE: American Society of Civil Engineers

There’s a game that I played years ago called Sim City. The basis for Sim City is managing local government. The objective of the game is to use your decision making skills to build a city and manage the city as potential disasters and other problems arise. Some schools, such as Auburn University use Sim City to teach students systems thinking, problem-solving skills and “craft” in the planning profession.

I remember in playing this game that if I concentrated on one aspect of planning and neglected others, there were consequences, sometimes severe consequences. This leads to our current situation here in America. For now, our nation’s leaders (Congress and the President) are spending their time waging undeclared wars where the cost to pay for said wars aren’t even included in the budget deficit figures.

So when will our leaders decide that our own nation needs some TLC and leave other nations to depend upon their own people to survive? The answer will probably be found when the next bridge collapses or the water situation hits crisis level. A “D-” for drinking water? Are you kidding me?

Our leaders are reactive, not proactive. The only thing that they are leaders of is the march towards the destruction of America as we know it! They would lose every game of Sim City they ever played. If only there were no consequences.

The next ASCE report card is due out in 2009. I can only imagine what further deterioration will have occurred. Can the grade of “F” be too far off? If your child receives these types of grades, are you proud of them? No! You do what you can to fix the problem by paying more attention to what is causing it!

What’s causing our problems in America? We need $1.6 trillion over the next 5 years to fix our infrastructure. Where will that money come from? Is it in the current budget? Will war with Iran make things better or worse? Does Congress even ask these types of questions?

So to pay for the repairing of infrastructure, congress can only do one of two things; raise taxes or print more money (the hidden tax called inflation).

Either way, you will pay more for everything.

You’ll find out what’s going on with your state’s infrastructure here.

Doug Eberhardt

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1. Vote For Those That Voted “NO” To the Bailout Come November
2. Social Security Will Be There For You, However…
3. Top 5 Articles of 2009

Ron Paul is sly as a fox. When he decided to run for President in March of 2007, he knew his chances were slim that he would be elected. For Ron, it was more about “The Message.”

It is “The Message” that over the last year has gathered momentum and has spawned a rEVOLution which has a different meaning for every American. For some “the message” and the rEVOLution is about not following the Constitution by fighting undeclared wars. For others it’s about securing our borders and taking away the free incentives for illegal’s to come here. “The message” could be about being pro-life or eliminating the income tax. There is no one issue that applies to all, but rather an array of issues that appeal to each of us individually.

So why is Ron Paul leading a rEVOLution? The answer is simple. The Left and the Right have taken this nation to the brink of bankruptcy. The reason? Our elected representatives cannot live within their means, they spend like there’s no tomorrow, and police the world like they’ve been appointed by God to do so. But, more importantly, is “how” they get away with their actions. They do it through the hidden tax called inflation and they get away with it because Americans can’t see the immediate effect.

Allow me to explain.When one receives their paycheck each week, they feel the immediate effect of taxes being levied as they get to spend what’s left. They don’t feel the effect of inflation till they fill up their cars with gas or go to the grocery store and buy the necessities to live a comfortable life and realize that something has happened. The paycheck that used to buy all they need to live comfortably has come up short in purchasing basic necessities and there are still bills to be paid that a few years ago their paycheck covered. How can this be? The answer is “inflation.”

Inflation is simply, the increase in money supply. When the money supply is increased, you have to pay more for things. Why? Because a company has to raise their prices to maintain its wealth and overall profitability. There are also supply and demand issues as to why prices go higher, but we’ll leave that part of the equation out of this analysis for simplicity except for a few examples below.

The reason you are paying more for anything is because the Federal Reserve creates too much money allowing our government to live beyond its means.It’s easy to do when all the government has to do in receiving more money is borrow from the Federal Reserve who creates it out of thin air.

Here’s how it works, from the Federal Reserve Pamphlet, “Putting it simply…. The Federal Reserve – Federal Reserve Bank of Boston:

“The authority to print money is an important power for any government to possess, and congress has delegated that power to the Federal Reserve.Of course, along with the Federal Reserves authority to create money comes the responsibility to ensure that the money retains its value.In setting monetary policy, the Fed seeks to provide enough money to accommodate steady economic growth without upsetting the economy’s equilibrium. At the same time the Federal Reserve has a clear responsibility not to provide too much money, since a sharp jump in the money supply could upset the economy’s balance.”

How has the money supply affected inflation historically? Has their actions caused a “sharp jump in the money supply upsetting the economy’s balance?” Lets look at this chart and see. As you can see from the chart, inflation is much higher than the government’s version of it via the CPI. This chart shows you the reason why the government will no longer be publishing the M3 money supply data. They don’t want you to know about the 15% increase in M3 in the last year as John Williams from Shadow Government Statistics has calculated.

To understand this further, we must define how money works.According to the “Putting it Simply” pamphlet, the Fed says that; “For money to work in its three principal roles — as a medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a measure of value — it must have two characteristics; 1. it must be relatively scarce, and 2. it must be widely accepted.”

So how has The Fed done? This can be answered in how weak the dollar is versus other major currencies. The U.S. dollar index, established in 1973, was trading at 122 in 2001 and today has fallen to near its all time low at just over 76. The U.S. Dollar has lost on average, over 37% versus the other major currencies in the last 7 years and even lost to historically weaker currencies like the Philippine Peso which has gained 28% on the dollar in the last 28 months alone. This is what happens when you’re the world’s largest debtor nation..

But the U.S. dollar is only part of the inflationary problem.Oil was under $30 a barrel in 2003, before the Iraq war started, and recently hit $100.Gasoline prices have doubled since 2003. Food prices have been rising in double digits and there is currently a long period of rising food prices forecast.

Inflation is a hidden tax and it is compounded by an interventionist foreign policy.

The major way we are paying for the wars we wage and our policing of the world is through inflation. Instead of paying down our debt, which now stands at over 9 trillion dollars, our armed forces are stationed in 130 different nations and currently waging two wars with a realistic threat of more.All the while, our own borders are left unprotected.

So to recap, when U.S. dollars are increased (money supply) the dollar’s purchasing power has decreased (inflation). Imagine for a moment your paycheck having 37% less over the last few years.If you felt the immediate visual effect of this inflation being subtracted from your paycheck, you’d be mad as hell and probably also shout, “I’m not going to take this anymore!” Well guess what?This HAS happened to you and you should be “mad as hell!”If this describes you, then welcome to Ron Paul’s rEVOLution and know that he not only wants to cure inflation by installing sound money principles, but he also wants to give you more of your paycheck by eliminating the income tax. Imagine the effect this would have on our economy if you were taking home MORE money and NOT feeling the effects of inflation?

But one can’t get rid of inflation and wars until they get rid of the root cause of these, the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has not lived up to their promise for money to be a “store of value.”Also, money is not anymore “relatively scarce” and more and more people and countries are not “widely accepting” U.S. dollars.China, for example, removed the U.S. dollar peg in 2005 and is now pegging the Yuan to a basket of international currencies (although the dollar is still a part of the basket).. Today, the Yuan has appreciated about 14% versus the U.S. dollar since losing its 100% dollar peg.

The Federal Reserve is the cancer that has grown stemming from flawed decisions in the year 1913 under the Wilson administration when it was created. The Federal Reserve truly is the evil spoken about in the Bible, Romans 12:9 “Abhor that which is evil.” Without eradicating the Federal Reserve cancer, you can’t get rid of the inflation and wars. Ron Paul wants to eliminate the evil power held by the Federal Reserve.

How many other candidates currently running on the Left or the Right have any clue to all of this? What they will do is continue with the same garbage in, garbage out routine that will do nothing but drive our nation further into the black hole of never ending debt.

So what is “The Message?” The Message is different for each and every one of us. For many, it is a combination of issues. For some, it is only one issue that’s most important to them. All of these issues are centered on one cause which they have in common; Liberty, and one solution; the Constitution. This is what Ron Paul stands for.

By eliminating one of these Left and Right tools of destruction, The Federal Reserve, and thus inflation and the ability to fund undeclared wars, our government will have to live within its means and thus we all will have the Freedom to live a more prosperous life, maintaining our wealth and we’ll also be able to pass that prosperity on to our heirs. Isn’t this the way our forefathers envisioned America to be?

So come February 5th, we’ll have some answers about how America currently thinks. So far, by the voting that has been occurring in some states, America isn’t thinking too well. Will we continue the destructive course with continued inflation and the Federal Reserve that has our great nation on the verge of bankruptcy or will we be choosing Prosperity and Liberty by casting our vote for Ron Paul? Either way, “the message” will continue to spread and Ron Paul will be leading the rEVOLution to November and beyond.

All are invited to join!

Doug Eberhardt

Related posts:

1. It’s Not Too Late For Ron Paul!
2. Why Don’t Limbaugh and Hannity Support Ron Paul’s Bill to Audit the Fed?
3. Ron Paul Should Leave The Republican Party