Cuba: A Missed Opportunity for America

Approximately 90 miles from the U.S. shore is the island of Cuba, an ally of the United States when it was governed by dictatorship.  Fidel Castro came to power when he overthrew Cuba's dictatorship and our relationship has never been the same.

 

The next President should hold meetings with Castro or whomever the Cuban leader is at the time with the intent to open and have diplomatic relations with Cuba.  Cuba and America could become full trading partners and in time Cuba could become a free country for its people.  Fifty plus years of sanctions and boycotts never achieved its goal---the overthrow of Castro by its people; it is time to try something different.

The idea of Cuba being more inline with our enemies than with America is unacceptable after all these years.  President Kennedy before his death had plans to start a dialog with Cuba to bring them back in our hemisphere.  He had the wisdom to realize the communist hold on Cuba had to be broken.  Unfortunately, his untimely death put an end to this endeavor.

 

An independent, free Cuba would make our hemisphere safer.  Our relationship with Cuba should be a strong, mutual one; not one where the U.S. dominates.  The United States should not be worried because Cuba is communist.  That will fall soon enough from natural forces just like communism in Russia fell.

 

The next President will have to stand up to the Cuban people in Florida who will not take kindly to this new policy.  President Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 called Cuba, "that imprisoned island."  Almost 50 years later, our foreign policy toward Cuba has not changed that.  The time for action is way over due.

Picture: © Rafael Perez/Corbis 

Corporate America: Leaving the Average American in the Dust

Corporate America has the power to transform the quality of life for its employees and the people of this country.  They have failed to do so because of their greed.  They give exorbitant bonuses, stock options, and the like to their CEOs and executives, even when their companies are losing money.  This is done at the expense of their faithful employees who make everything possible for the company.

 

At a time when health insurance and retirement benefits are being reduced for the average worker, (some benefits are being eliminated) CEOs and executives are still receiving their exorbitant bonuses and stock options.  All the while corporate America enjoys the advantage of loop holes in federal tax laws that allows them to pay less tax than the average American.

 

They also enjoy corporate welfare from the federal government under the disguise of need.  If CEOs and Executives were given bonuses and stock options at a ratio that can be related to their average worker's salary, the excess they are now being paid could be diverted to a health insurance fund for their employees.  That would alleviate the reduction in health coverage employees are experiencing.  But, of course, greed gets in the way. 

 

It is also corporate America that spends millions of dollars to hire lobbyists, some have their own lobbyists within their company.  Their purpose is to influence Congress and State Legislatures so they can receive special treatment while the average American, when contacting their representatives, receive either a standard reply or none at all.  

It is time for Congress and State Legislatures to show lobbyists the door and treat them like the average American.  Corporate America and their lobbyists have destroyed the checks and balances that were created to take care of the average person's business.  Their greed has corrupted our system and something must be done to change it.