Would you please tell me who came up with the bright idea of selling the management rights for our ports??!! For God's sake, have that person run to his nearest clinic for an MRI, to see if he HAS ANY BRAINS!!
I suppose selling the rights sounds LUCRATIVE. And in these days, when government is having trouble making ends meet, I know they are grasping at any straw to keep from having to make cuts or raise taxes, again! But, did ANYONE suggest there might be a problem with letting the security of our ports out of our hands? Why sell the rights to another country, when, if it HAD to be sold, it could have been sold to an American company? Were they just a bit greedy when it was time to sell the contracts?
It seems to me that between the mismanagement of the disaster due to hurricanes in the south, and selling the contract for port management, our Homeland Security is in serious trouble, and SO ARE WE!
Perhaps ten years ago, I read that one in every four Americans earns their living through some form of government. Village, city, township, county,state and federal government, police, national guard, the military and our justice system. Three of us have to pay enough taxes to support one of them, AND the services and improvements we need. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty bleak picture to me. When is government going to figure out that it's way past time to cut back? Do you think we could simply pick a percentage and cut back EVERYTHING? Less welfare, fewer cops, less pay for government jobs, less overseas aid, government documents printed in ENGLISH only?
And while we are at it, let's privatize more of what needs to be done, with contracts to be let to American citizens only. Privatize the security for the ports, if necessary, but establish the requirements that every company must meet for every port. They can choose to do more, but they have to meet the minimums.
Is that unrealistic? We need to create jobs for Americans, and we need to cut back on costs to Americans. Couldn't the two go hand in hand?
I'm rambling, I know. But what you should walk away with is my feeling that our government needs a serious overhaul. It's run amok, and doesn't understand that the people it serves are more important than it is. Rather than meeting the needs of the people, it prevents them from getting the help they need. Don't you think it's time for a change?