My Visit to Washington Turns Historic
MY VISIT TO WASHINGTON TURNS HISTORIC
It all started when I got the email from my Aunt Connie, my late Dad’s sister, inviting my family and me to come to Alexandria, VA for a rare family reunion celebrating the 90th birthday of my Uncle Tolly, a retired Army dentist and all around great guy.
My Uncle's Speech at His 90th Birthday Party
So there we were, at the Ft. Belvoir golf club, with 50 relatives who had assembled from the West, East, and Gulf coasts, from the age of 90 down to age 1. There was truly a deep feeling of legacy, as I met for the first time the numerous young offspring of my cousins and second cousins.
From Tolly, a proud member of the Greatest Generation, to myself and our Baby Boomer cousins, what kind of a legacy and country were we going to be leaving for the youngsters (including my own twin daughters who are currently age 9)?
The next day, we realized that our hotel was just 5 miles away from Mount Vernon, the historic mansion and farm of George Washington, the Father of our Country. We decided to check it out.
Let me tell you, our minds were blown. The entire George Washington estate has been restored and expanded with a museum, and numerous educational multimedia presentations funded by a private foundation. The story of Washington’s childhood, upbringing, early career as a hero of the French and Indian war, and leadership in winning the Revolutionary War with the British against tremendous odds, is breathtaking. The qualities of Washington himself–who turned down the invitation to become the King of the colonies (twice), who served as Commander of the colonial forces without pay, and whose influence enabled the U.S. Constitution to be created and put in place after the post-war Articles of Confederation became dysfunctional–are utterly inspiring. George Washington brought competence, strategy, political skill, persistence, resilience, and a belief in a higher power and a greater good, to the principles on which our nation was founded.
My daughters enjoying George Washington's estate on the Potomac.
While George Washington is known as our country’s first President and Commander in Chief, he thought of himself first and foremost as a farmer. Recognizing the inadequacies of 18th-Century farming practices, he pioneered innovative and environmentally-friendly methods, including crop rotation, and the use of organic fertilizers, and recycling.
George Washington was an entrepreneurial farmer and businessman and an outstanding manager. His whiskey distillery and gristmill and farm utilized innovative technologies that were cutting-edge in the 18th-century. His thriving farming and fishing businesses required a wharf to transport goods by boat to Alexandria.
Everyone in both houses of Congress should be required by law to visit Mount Vernon during their first year in office.
Failure to know the true foundation principles and values underlying our country’s founding results in ignorant, uninformed and belligerent opinions, which are totally adverse to the spirit in which our Country came into being, and which must be restored.
Which leads me to…
The House and Senate Were About to Vote on the Debt Ceiling
Ironically, this iconic family event took place just as the Congress was debating the debt ceiling and how to cut the deficit.
After visiting Mt. Vernon on Sunday, I met with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and two of his aides at his Senate office on Monday afternoon, moments after the House voted to raise the debt ceiling. We had a very productive and candid 45-minute talk about the state of affairs in Congress, and innovations needed to respond to Baby Boomers’ challenges (including a detailed discussion of how my Social Security reform proposal to create the Boomer Corps could positively affect communities, non-profits, Boomer mental and physical health, and our nation’s well being).
A Historic Moment for the Roll Family
The Next Day
The next day, my family and I were at the Capitol and in the Senate Gallery just after the Senators had voted to increase the debt ceiling. Yet hearing the discussion and debate, I couldn’t help but feel that the Senate and in fact the entire Congress is totally not up to the task of making the hard choices and dealing out the shared pain that which are needed to bring the Country back to a solid footing, both ideologically and financially.
Two days later, the S&P rating for the U.S. was downgraded, for the first time in history. Based on the dismay and despair I heard in the voice of Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, speaking of the standoff in Congress over providing funding to the FAA (for air safety!), and the willingness of Congress to incur an immediate revenue loss of $1.2 billion in aviation tax revenues, rather than vote a $14 million allocation, I came away feeling that the current leaders of Congress are not capable of the task of trimming the wasteful practices and habits that have gotten us into this debt crisis.
What is needed in Washington is hardnosed and experienced turnaround management, not a bunch of amateurs with no hard-earned experience balancing the books. No wonder a whopping 62% of Americans said they would dump all current legislators in Congress if they could vote today, according to a survey released August 4.
What should we do?
I believe we must immediately get this country onto a budget that is lean and mean, and do so on a proportional, shared sacrifice basis, without endangering the survival of the most vulnerable citizens.
1. We must restore individual income tax rates to their historic levels of decades past, which were in place during both Republican and Democratic administrations. We need to tell corporations, if U.S. citizens must pay their taxes, you must pay your taxes for the privilege of being part of this unique country. And if you don’t want to share the benefits of being a “citizen” of the U.S., then go ahead and leave.
2. We will then need to incentivize through tax policy investments in start-ups and growth ventures that will create the jobs to replace any corporations that elect to leave.
3. Finally, we should pass legislation that imposes on Congress the same lifestyle experiences faced by ordinary Americans with respect to health insurance, pensions, Social Security, and job insecurity. Once that happens, we’ll see how quickly they turn themselves and the country around!
In the meantime, what can you personally do to protect yourself and your retirement savings?
This Thursday at 10AM EST, I will be sending you a letter and a video presentation I recommend you watch. I think it will tell you some sound steps to take going forward in this perilous economy.
Be sure to watch for it in your inbox.
