There's sense and then there are cents:

Tuesday – August 2, 2011

There’s sense and then there are cents:

Who said, “A penny saved is a penny earned”? This quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin; one of the most famous Americans of his time and continues to be in our time. Benjamin Franklin held many titles including leader, scientist, and world traveler. Besides his many contributions to the scientific world, Benjamin Franklin is known for his inspirational quotes.

During his lifetime, he witnessed the creation of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Handel’s “The Messiah”, the death of Peter the Great, the discovery of Pompeii, the French and Indian Wars, which was followed by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and the adoption of the Georgian Calendar. Through all of this, Franklin made his own mark on the world with his many inventions. Always a practical man and wanting to make life easier for himself and others, a few of Franklin’s inventions include: Swim Fins in 1717, the lightning rod in 1752, the iron furnace stove in 1742, the odometer in 1775 and bifocals in 1784.

I am giving you this brief history, because of all the founding fathers, Franklin was the one that truly knew what sense was, because he had it and, as a result of having sense, he was able to save his cents. Hence a penny saved is a penny earned.

Franklin made it a point to impart his wisdom to others. In 1758, he wrote and published: “Way to Wealth,” a speech of various maxims that attempted to help people live frugal lives. However, “A penny saved is a penny earned” was not his only famous quote he said: “I didn’t fail the test; I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” - “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.” – “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” These were truly remarkable words, said in a remarkable time.

On today’s date, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally signed. Franklin was one of the signers. The difference between today and Franklin’s time is that people wanted to serve their country to appeal to its higher sense. Today, when the country needs a Franklin, we cannot find anyone close anywhere in our Government today. Today, we need to search out those people who will serve and who know what the higher sense of serving is all about and who know how to save the cents, so that dollars can be earned. Today, we need people with a sense of what right is and what wrong is. Today, sense and cents will make the difference.

Today, you will not hear that this is the 235 anniversary of the formal signing of the document that spelled out what liberty, Freedom and Independence are. Today, you will hear about the passage of the debt bill that has very little sense applied to it and that doesn’t save the cents of a nation. This was a horrible process that yielded a horrible product.

Today, the question we must ask is; how can you add seven trillion dollars to the National debt and call it a cut in the debt and retain your Triple A credit rating? The credit rating agencies said if you want to avoid a downgrade you must cut four trillion dollars from your overall spending and get a handle on your entitlement cost. This debt deal does not do that. You will not hear this perspective anywhere. What you will hear is that you can trust the process because the process worked. It is not perfect but we have to settle on something.

When a nation continually sends the same people to do the nation’s business nothing will change, because the same people will settle on the same things. When a nation sends a Franklin to do the nation’s business the nation will get a solution based on sense, so that the nation can have its cents applied to what is important to the liberty, freedom and independence of the citizenry, based on the premise of our founding documents. I am beginning to think that just because our current leaders didn’t sign our documents of liberty, freedom and independence they are not so important. Maybe we should have them sign a copy every now and then. I would if I were asked!

The other battle that now looms is in September. Congress will meet to appropriate the funds to keep all the agencies and the other costs of doing business in the government appropriated. Sense would dictate that each agency would have to prove what they need instead of what they want. Sense would dictate that each agency would be audited and each agencies charter would be reviewed for relevance in today’s world, instead of what that agency was created to do 30, 40 and even 50 years ago. Sense would say that you don’t get the nation’s cents, because your agency is outdated in today’s world.

This is just somebody who has sense talking about the cents that you are required to pay for many services that you don’t even get to enjoy. But that’s just too sensible to even talk about, let alone apply.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: The new politician will have to be able to make the old politician irrelevant in the discussion of 2012. I may be ready to do that very soon!