Before I talk about the issue at hand let me state my political beliefs.  Many people (journalists and television personalities) fail to mention their affiliation before they publish their thoughts.  To me such most people in the media are nothing more than UNOFFICIAL POLITICIANS (they get a job and then try to move the public perception one way or the other.)

• I find party politics nothing short of pathetic.  Party politics is not what the U.S. Constitution was designed to create.  

• Politicians have one goal – to get re-elected.

• Politicians will spend money freely - it isn’t their money.  Proof of this is evident in the U.S. national debt.  As of today it is $5.6 trillion dollars, up from $960 billion in 1979.  That means that politicians have increased the national burden by 8% per year for the last 23 years.  Each resident of the U.S. (approximately 280 million – this includes children) is personally responsible for $28,000 of debt.  Approximately 15% of payroll taxes go towards paying interest on the national debt.  This money is not productive capital and it is not creating jobs in the U.S. It is money that politicians have already spent.

• I am concerned about the future direction of the nation.  I am not a democrat or republican.  I have been a resident of the U.S. since I was four years old.  I am a permanent resident and an applicant for citizenship in the U.S.   I love the United States, the form of government and all the freedoms that are afforded by the Constitution.  Like many people my only memories are of being a resident in the United States.  I was raised here, educated here and love the country I live in. 

The Bottom Line on Homeland Security Debate – Summary of Key Comments:

• Government employees are the largest group of union members in the U.S. They account for 44% of total union members in the United States. There are over 7 million workers in the government beaurocracy. 

• Union membership in the U.S. has fallen steadily over the last 40 years.  Democrats are trying to protect their union members.

• The national debt has risen from $970 billion to $5.6 trillion during the years of 1979 to 2002.  This means that the national debt has increased over 8% per year during that time span.  Democrats and Republicans are to blame.  EVERY POLITICIAN IS TO BLAME!

• The United States is currently undergoing a major demographic change.  The population is aging rapidly, just like most other industrialized nations.  As a result, additional tax dollars will be needed or taxpayers will demand a contraction in government spending and legislation that bars further deficit spending.  Democrats are afraid of losing a key constituency and are protecting BIG GOVERNMENT.  Can anyone say “Pass the Pork Please?

The debate at hand – Homeland Security and unionization. 

On July 27, 2002 I read some comments from Senator Joe Lieberman that are nothing short of partisan politics.  As many Americans are well aware, President Bush is insisting on winning broad personnel powers over the proposed Homeland Security Department.  Mr. Lieberman says that such power is an insult to unionized government employees.  Mr. Lieberman states "This is a phony issue, and it ought not to stop the president from signing this bill.  This bill will protect the American people." The White House threatened last week to veto legislation that does not give Bush what he says is the flexibility to manage the department's employees.

Here is the reality:

1. Government employees are the largest group of union members in the U.S. They account for 44% of total union members in the United States.  There are over 7 million workers in the government beaurocracy. 

UNION MEMBERS BY INDUSTRY, 2001

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Earnings, January 2002. Prepared by the AFL-CIO.  

Source: Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Labor Statistics Bulletin 2070, December 1980; and Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, January, various years, 1983-2002.  Prepared by the AFL-CIO.

3.    The national debt has risen from $970 billion to $5.6 trillion during the years of 1979 to 2002.  This means that the national debt has increased over 8% per year during that time span.  Democrats and Republicans are to blame.  EVERY POLITICIAN IS TO BLAME!

Source: www.ustreas.gov

Source: Harvard International Press (Fall 2000) & UN World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision (New York, 1999)

The United States, with its flexible immigration laws, is still able to maintain population growth at above 2.1 but European nations, which have somewhat negative responses to immigration, will see their populations fall dramatically in the next 20 years.  As a result of an aging population social security and Medicare costs in the United States are going to increase in the next 10 to 20 years.